A sad day

A major bridge collapsed yesterday in Minneapolis. This is a bridge that I have driven over hundreds if not a thousand times.
There will be a lot of stirring tributes and lots of investigations as to what went wrong and why, but the fact of the matter is that people lost their lives just driving home from work, going to visit a friend, or whatever else reason they would have been in rush hour traffic at that time, that place.
My thoughts and prayers are with those families today, but even as I type these words they seem to be a bit hallow. Nothing will replace that person. No nice words, no hugs, no tears shed. There will be an empty space at the dinner table in some homes. There will be an empty space in the hearts of those who lost loved ones.
I know that there will be stories of heroism and bravery that will come out of this. There always are. I live in a state that I am proud to say is full of great people. There are good people everywhere. In Minnesota, they are great.
But even still, there is loss. Time will heal some of the sting. And so we pray, and so we hug, and so we cry together.