A couple of students had a close friend die in an auto accident back home. One of them flew home, the other came by my office this evening to talk about it. The one that flew home is skipping the next week of classes -- midterm week -- and the rest of the semester isn't looking too good for her. This is sad, because she's a really good student, and on top of her best friend dying, her classes may go poorly. The one that didn't fly home isn't much better off -- she's got a packed week, with midterms, and singing in chapel, and preparing for choir tour next week over fall break -- and she's completely unable to focus for her upcoming tests.

I felt rather helpless. I just sat and listened, and told her a little about the ones close to me that died when I was in college. I prayed for her before she left, and I believe that helped.