We will return to our series on forgiveness tomorrow, but
today’s reflection is a response to what happened in Texas yesterday.
Proverbs 31:8, CEB - Speak out on behalf of the
voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.
Of course, our prayers are with
them. Our thoughts have been with them
since the moment we heard. Once again,
we are horrified at the deaths of at least 19 children and 2 adults in Uvalde,
Texas at Robb Elementary School. But our
“thoughts and prayers” ARE NOT ENOUGH! This is the 30th K-12 school
shooting in the US this year and it’s only May!
I do have to admit that I’m not
sure what the answers are but I’m quite sure we are long past the time for
shrugging our shoulders and simply saying, “we don’t know how to fix this.” We have to figure this out. I think of at least 19 homes in Texas where
families are gathering wondering why their precious child was shot to death at
school – a place where we should be able to assume is a safe place for children
to be. In at least 2 more homes,
families cannot fathom how working at a school with 7-9 year-olds has become a
life-risking endeavor.
When terrorists killed people on
September 11, 2001 in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, we made major
changes in almost every area of life to make sure nothing like that ever
happened again. And in the 20+ years
since that atrocity, nothing like that has happened again. Can this moment be the moment when we, together,
decide, that once again, we will do EVERYTHING WE CAN THINK OF to prevent another
child, teacher, or school worker is not killed in our schools.
Our call as people of faith is to
defend those who cannot defend themselves.
Please pray for the families of all the victims of Texas. But while you’re doing that, pray to be given
at AT LEAST ONE SPECIFIC ACTION YOU CAN TAKE to be part of the solution.
Question: How many
more children and school workers must die before we all decide that it is
enough?
Prayer: God, our
hearts break for the whole Uvalde Texas community and so many others across our
country that have been devastated by the murder of children, teachers, and
school workers. We know Your heart
breaks as well. Help us know what
specific steps we can take to be part of stopping this ongoing carnage. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for and Contact our elected officials at every level of government to come
together to begin to address gun violence in our schools and places of worship.
Song: The song today
was written by Steven Curtis Chapman about his daughter. The song took on a completely different significance
when the daughter that he wrote the song about was accidently killed. It was years before Chapman could sing the
song again. That’s the kind of place of
grief that too many families are experiencing right now.
Cinderella – Steven Curtis Chapamn
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