In the wake of the tragic explosion near Waco, Texas, I've seen several of my friends who live in that area going to social networks to express their sorrow, shock and pleas for prayers. Included in my Facebook news feed was a comment by Holly Tucker, a Baylor student in Waco who is competing on the NBC television show 'The Voice'.

While Tucker is concentrating on her dream of becoming a famous singer, she caught word of the explosion in West, a small town less than 20 miles from Waco, late yesterday and took time to share her thoughts on Facebook:

It's unbelievable how tragedy can literally hit so close to home. After reading this article and catching up on everything, I am shocked and devastated, but I am SO proud to call Waco my hometown for how the people are really coming together to help and pray. My heart is with the victims and those affected by this event. Prayers for West.

Very well said. Holly has only recently been placed into the public spotlight with her sweet country singing voice, and every moment of the past couple of months of Tucker's life have been all about her. It would be easy for her to get caught up in her newly found fame and let someone else worry about what's going on back home, but she took the time.

Holly's comments got me thinking of something else. Obviously, this tragedy has made national news. Much like what happened earlier in the week in Boston, a lot of people stopped what they are doing and took time for thoughts and prayers for those in West.

It's my hope that in the weeks to come, as Holly Tucker (hopefully) continues her run on the most popular talent show on TV, that she takes advantage of her opportunity to talk about the incident and rally for support. It would be great if she could remind people that, while West isn't a major city like Boston with built-in news coverage, real people died, were hurt, had their homes destroyed, and will continue to need help even after the news networks leave town.

I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, and there are things that we can all do immediately. Continue to pray, send money and aid, give blood.

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