Song of the day:
Changing Us by Brendan James
We’ve come closer than we wanted, we’ve seen what we never should
And we will not be the same. We’ll never be the same, no.
Like steel we are so resilient, but too much and we’re weak as children.
We were not meant to be made witness to these scenes, no.
Gunshots in a broken palace, planes crashing and burn around us
It’s different than it ever was, darker than it’s ever been
Three shouts and thank God I found you
With the crowd and the fog around you I’ll never let you fall, I’ll never let you fall
Oh Heaven can you hear us
Right now we are not sure
But I hope it will get better
These times we’re in together, they’re changing us forever
Two kids in a crooked alley, school canceled again
And now they won’t learn a single lesson except how to load a weapon
And right here on this old soil we hope for peace and we pray for joy
But like everybody else we’re still fighting with ourselves
Oh heaven can you hear us
Right now we are not sure
But I hope it will get better
These times we’re in together, they’re changing us forever
1 school
19 children
2 adults
Gone.
This on the heels of 1 grocery store and 10 people, 1 church and 1 person. Gone.
There have been 213 mass shootings in this country in 2022 alone (Gun Violence Archive). In many of these 1 or more people were killed. We are only in the fifth month of the year, and it’s not even over yet.
I don’t even know what to say anymore. I’ve written about these tragedies before and the words are the same…heartbreaking, horrifying, upsetting, angry. I pray for their families and friends, I pray for the hearts of congress to break open and feel this pain, and for the love of God to finally do something about it. But let me be clear, the thoughts and prayers of congress are not going to cut it. We need action. Yes, send your thoughts to the families, pray for them, but take action to ensure this doesn’t happen to any other families. Pass real gun legislation. Actually BE pro-life, instead of just anti-abortion. DO SOMETHING!!
In case you haven’t seen this powerful video from Steve Kerr, Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors, I encourage you to take the time.
And in case you don’t think Steve has any business speaking on this, remember that his father was murdered when he was president of American University of Beirut.
I can’t imagine being a parent right now and having to explain this to your children. I can’t imagine being a child having to go to school tomorrow. I can’t imagine being a teacher. But this is what parents and children and teachers do. They carry on. They move forward. They live their lives and hope beyond hope that today is not the day it happens to them. This is what the Black and Brown communities has been doing for years. None of it is okay. We have lost too many people. No place is truly safe. I know God has a plan, but I have no idea how this is part of it.
Please hold your loved ones a little closer today. Don't let the stupid stuff get in the way. Be present. Be available. Listen. Learn. VOTE. We have the power to make this better but it takes all of us. We have to vote out those who have no interest in changing things. We have to vote out those who don't care about anyone other than themselves. We have to vote them all out. And then we have to hold those who hold the offices accountable. For everything. Otherwise there will continue to be scenes like today. And I for one could live the rest of my life without hearing about something like this again.
Video of the day:
I’ll leave you today with something that hopefully helps calm your mind. It’s important to step away from the news, from Twitter, from any and all things news related. Take care…
I'm right there with you, wondering when we, as a country, will finally get tired enough of the carnage to do something about it. All I know to do is pray, vote, and keep moving forward but it's hard sometimes