I got the call from home late in the afternoon.  “You have to turn on the news." Because my husband I grew up in West Virginia and my in-laws live within a mile from the West Virginia Sago Mine site, a cord of compassion vibrated within me when I learned about the thirteen trapped miners.

As the event unfolded, I stayed glued to the television for two days. A thought rang in my heart. The lives of these men matter. Life is sacred. Throughout the week I watched with agony while desperate families waited and wondered—Will the miners get out? Will they be okay?

My passion was ignited in part because the tragedy hit home. Four years ago, my brother died in a work-related accident. As my family and I waited for the final word from the doctor, it was excruciating. So, when the miner's families were finally told late Wednesday night that only one miner had died, I celebrated and cried with them. I rejoiced that almost all of them were spared the almost unbearable grief of losing their loved one. I crawled into bed, praised God and thanked Him for His faithfulness.
 
Then Thursday morning, my joy turned to grief. A miscommunication revealed that only one out of the thirteen made it. What a horrific mistake! Sorrow followed for everyone involved. These individuals would now know a deep heartache like they never had before. I thought, A day will never go by when their loved ones will not cross their minds followed by this horrible memory.

Life is precious, valuable, and sacred.  When I rejoiced that only one had died, it was because part of our God-given nature is to fight for life.  It's a belief central to the core of our hearts.

After I found out all but one had died, I felt shock, grief and sorrow. Not because I doubted God’s faithfulness, but because it was such a tragic loss of life. These men’s existence mattered, as all life does. 

Why does it take an event like September 11th, a tsunami, hurricane, or a tragic event like a mining accident to remind us that lives matter?

Tonight I will hug my kids a little bit tighter, call my mom just to say "hello," and thank God for giving me another day to take a breath and praise His name. Let us pray that it doesn’t take another tragedy to remind us about the importance of the sanctity of human life.

Julie Abel is the Sanctity of Human Life manager within Focus on the Family’s Community Impact Outreach Division.  She and her husband reside in Colorado Springs with their two children.