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The heaviness of the last 48 hours is palpable.  The deepest sorrow of a parent burying their precious child.  It is heartbreaking and it should be unfathomable.  I remember being in high school and watching Columbine unfold.  I remember the unprecedented fear that school could somehow be unsafe.  It was unimaginable that such darkness could steal innocent lives in the one place we rely on as a society to teach and protect our children.  And yet here we are.  So many years later.  These are babies, elementary school babies, and their brave teachers who should be busy making summer plans.  Instead, their heartbroken families are planning funerals.  With tragedy after tragedy, too many innocent lives have been taken with the pull of a trigger.

As I write this post my father is fighting for his life.  Over the last five years, cancer has wreaked havoc on much of his body.  On the same day as the Uvalde school massacre, I saw my father for the first time in a couple of months. My once strong oftentimes incredibly stubborn dad is now physically weak like I have never seen, yet his stubbornness is ever-present.  A will and desire to fight even when his own body wants to give up.  To see hope even when it is bleak.  To believe that better days are coming.  His surgery is in two weeks on June 7th and my dear prayer warriors, I come to you and humbly ask for your prayers.  That this surgery may be the answer and bring healing and relief to so much suffering.  The odds are not in our favor, but one thing I love about God is that He doesn’t care about odds, and if anyone believes anything is possible, it would be my dad. 

As I dropped off my three children at school this morning, I held them a little tighter.  I kissed them one more time.  I told them I loved them and prayed for God to watch over them.  I came home and cried.  Tears for all the parents who did not get to take their children to school today.  Who didn’t get to give them one last hug and kiss.  The sickening reality of how gun violence continues to shatter lives and families. I will continue to pray for each of these precious families.  I will pray for our nation to do better.  I just finished emailing my senators. I’m getting ready to call next as well as my congressman and congresswoman. As a nation, we must do better. If you would like to do the same, here is a link to find the senators in your state: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

Our children are worth it.  We must be stubborn and be the voices for those who cannot speak.  We must believe that better days are coming and demand that our leaders make our children’s safety their priority.  As my father would say, it is a fight worth fighting and we are up for the challenge.