In the aftermath of Uvalde
Allyson Dix
Jobe Publishing, Inc.
An unexpected flood of emotion rose from my heart to my eyes as I dropped off my daughter for her last day of first grade at Metcalfe Elementary School. Honestly, I had to pull some inner strength and choke back the rising sobs so not to appear to be some unstable mom in the drop-off line.
No, it wasn’t because it marked the end of another school year for my little one. That was a celebratory moment in itself.
That flooding emotion started to rise as I watched our elementary principal, the educators, and the School Resource Officer continuing to greet each child on their last day of school, still smiling. I can’t help but wonder how heavy their hearts are following the Texas tragedy where 19 children and two teachers were gunned down inside an elementary school in Uvalde. Yet, these educators still had warm smiles and waves for the all of the kids walking into school as if that threat could never arise in our small town.
Deep down, we all know it could happen anywhere and I think this is a hard reality for parents and educators to accept. Uvalde is a small town similar to our little community.
It didn’t take long for social media “experts” and politicians to start spouting their opinions and theories loudly moments after the tragedy started to surface across the nation—gun control and mental health crises being the most noticeable.
There are times where hurting people need love, support, and prayers before lectures about cultural issues. Most of us can see the repercussions of our nation as it continues to decline in a morality aspect, hoping our small communities might stay afloat from the ongoing degradation of morals and values we see smeared throughout news outlets.
As of now, 19 families won’t be picking their child up on their last day of school as I plan to do today and my heart aches for the small town of Uvalde. Nineteen children won’t start their summer break today. As helpless as we may feel in the face of such tragedy, one thing, and perhaps the most important thing, we can all do is pray. Pray for those families, pray for our schools, and pray for this entire nation.
