At least 26 people were killed in Sunday's church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Our nation is already fractured with horrific moments like the Manhattan Truck attack last Tuesday and the mass shooting in Las Vegas last month. As these wounds are still fresh, this is our promise to the victims of the deadly shooting in Texas.
People are terrified of what could happen next and they’re suffering in ways a lot of us could never imagine, so what they need is our unconditional support.
Friends, we are a people that exist beyond politics and policy frameworks. We are a people who live amongst other people. That simple yet key relational aspect is so important when reacting well following a tragedy.
We will be silent.
We all have our own opinions and voices, but in times like these, the ones affected by the tragedy do not need another jaded voice. Whether we have an opinion or not, we’ll save it, stay silent, and simply acknowledge what has just happened with an open heart.
We promise to let our words be few and our love be plenty.
We will mourn with you.
In the silence, our hearts are crying out for the victims and their families. In spirit we are with you, in our prayers, we are with you. Every day you battle through, we’ll spend thinking of you with our hearts heavy knowing you’re suffering. We will transpose the imprint of your pain to ourselves and mourn with you.
We will name our emotions and allow them to consume us.
We are people who live amongst people, but we do have our own emotions that we feel in our own ways. We won’t dismiss our emotions, instead, we’ll recognize what times of tragedy bring us. Maybe one day, we’ll wake up hating the world, maybe one day we’ll go to sleep terrified of what tomorrow will bring. Either way, we identify it and work every day to ensure our future generations won’t feel this.
We will take the time to reflect.
After we name our emotions, we have to get to the bottom it. We have to ask ourselves “why?” “Why do I feel what I’m feeling?” “Is it because I have an emotional attachment to a victim or their family’s story?” Everyone is fighting their own battle and maybe these tragedies triggered a traumatic incident in your own life, remember it doesn’t have to be of the same scale to provoke emotions.
Whether we feel indifference, prejudice, or hatred forming from the raw emotion of anger this reflection time is crucial and can give us forewarning into unhealthy emotions as well. Instead of wallowing in it, we’ll use prayer or meditations to our advantage and keep all of the victims close to our hearts.
We will talk about it and never forget about it.
With our voices, we’ll create awareness. We’ll talk about our reflection time with trusted individuals, who have our best interest in mind. We’ll unite with those who are also suffering and create a solidarity that was not there before.
Whether they are a family member, friend, pastor, or mentor, we’ll be intentional with this time. Have an engaging two-way dialogue. Challenge each other to be vulnerable. We’ll work to create a safe environment where hostility is far from reach.
We will stand up and walk the walk.
I truly believe that each one of us can be a catalyst for positive change. However, we can’t drive change if we are professing it behind our electronic devices. Tragedies will happen. We don’t wish them upon anyone but the world is still fractured and scarred. Politicians and policies will come and go and we will still see brokenness all around us.
I believe if we as individuals, families, communities, states, and nations continue to proactively choose love first, our love will cast out all fear and hate. So as one people, we’ll get out there. We’ll challenge ourselves to get to know people who are different than us. We’ll break racial, socioeconomic, gender, sexual orientation divides and love our neighbor. The quiet efforts of many will overshadow the loud efforts of few.
We are here. We are united. We give our condolences to the victims and their families, they are forever in our hearts.