Good Evening Vincentians,
As we are sitting around the kitchen table this evening or maybe sitting out on the back porch enjoying listening to the children playing outside, I can’t help but think of the tragedy that unfolded today in Uvalde, Texas at Robb Elementary School.
This evening, there are 14 children ranging from 2nd through 4th grade who won’t be having dinner with their families, or doing their homework, or playing in their back yards. There is a teacher who will also not be going home to her loved ones. For all these families our hearts are broken.
We never know when it will be our time, but as adults, we know that it’s not natural for our children to leave this earth before us. We believe that when we drop our children off at school that they are in a safe place. We believe that those who are there teaching our children are loving them as much as we do as parents. This morning, those 14 families dropped their children off at school. They were looking forward to seeing their little ones after school to hear about what they learned today, who they played with at recess and any other exciting imaginative story their child would tell them on the ride home. Sadly, those 14 families will never hear those stories again.
We know that there was a teacher who loved her profession and would have done anything to help her class succeed. That teacher would be the ear to listen. That teacher would be their friend when they needed someone to talk to. That teacher was there for them. Every. Single Day. Now, that teacher is gone.
As a parent, how do you explain to your children what happened to their friends or their teacher today? How do you explain to a terrified child that when they go back to school in the fall things will be ok. How? It is hard for any of us who are parents to even comprehend what these families are going through this evening.
God has a plan and none of us know what that plan is. Right now, today, at the dinner table, before we go to bed, when we wake up tomorrow morning, we need to say a prayer. A prayer of thanks. A prayer for all those who left this earth. A prayer for comfort for these families so that they will be able to move forward after this tragic day. A prayer for love. A prayer for peace.
Whether your children are still living at home, or maybe they’re on their own, or maybe you have grandchildren, nieces, nephews … hug them a little tighter. Please keep all those involved in today’s horrific shooting in Texas in your thoughts and prayers. May they Rest in Peace.
God Bless,
Harry Ohde, Volunteer President CEO – Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago-ADC