The town of Harpenden is still reeling from the tragic death of Colin Moxley, long-time shop-keeper of Thorns on the high street, when he was hit by a car outside Sainsbury's on the 13th of January. Our condolences are with his wife and two sons as they deal with his sudden death. The outpouring of sympathy seen in the flowers left at the site and in the book of condolences in the shop show just how much he was respected by the community. His death reminds us of the fragility of life. Tragedies like this stun us and we wonder why a good person can be struck down in this way. Surely God could have prevented this. But we are not pawns in some cosmic chess game. We are creatures loved by God, given freedom to live out our lives in relationship with God. As humans we are not perfect and we make mistakes. Accidents happen and some people do bad things. There are consequences to our actions, even the loss of life. God is not absent in all this. God promises to be with us in the tragedies and the joys. If in faith we reach out to him, he is there to help us to face the challenges and tribulations of life. So when we say, ‘God bless you’ or ‘the Lord be with you’, we are saying something true. And in a tragedy like this, these are words we need to say to one another.