Like many of you, my family is also suffering from a broken heart in light of the latest tragedy in Florida, where so many innocent children lost their lives through a senseless act of violence. It is only natural at moments like these to feel great anger, but instead of choosing hatred, my prayer for today is to unify instead... and mourn for the dear families who must now suffer their great losses. Let us hold 🙏ers for them and find ways to keep the brave and wounded survivors in our hearts, that they too might find peace and healing in the years to come. The Florida massacre is just one of a string of tragedies that are claiming the lives of people who don’t deserve to die.
A sinking feeling persists in my gut over this plague of school shootings that are terrorizing our children. When will it end and what should we do to prevent this from happening again? These are questions that emerged from the #FloridaShooting that put a damper on this Valentine’s week that should have been about the love in our hearts, and not dealing with pain and sorrow.
While my daughter Abi and her best friend Sarah were in the car with me listening to the radio as the events of the shooting unfolded, their “solution” came in the form of turning on the Black Eyed Peas song, “Where Is The Love.” #MusicIsMedicine, right!!!
You can listen to the Black Eyed Peas song here on YouTube.
We listened to this song and then the girls made this profound statement to me: “Look at the damage that one person can do to so many families...and if that's the case, just think how much good one person can make for so many families!” 🤷♀️🤦♀️ Out of the mouth of babes!!! I have great faith in our children's future, especially, when I hear kids today keeping strong positive hearts and liking this kind of music that "promotes" uplifting messages:
🎵 “Where is the L❤️VE? Love is the key, the answer, the solution... and L❤️VE is powerful...” 🎶
What I would say to my daughter, her best friend Sarah and all the other children out there is, ‘If you will just simply keep making good choices in the name of L❤️VE, the world can be a different place.’
We cannot stop people’s agencies when they choose EVIL over good, but when we are faced with the consequences of their choices, we can turn to the Savior of this world who can heal the broken-hearted and help others to choose GOOD over evil.
There is so much pain in this world today, and as a mother of eight who has lost a child, this statement from a family, whose daughter died in the shooting touched me deeply:
"While we will not have the opportunity to watch her grow up and become the amazing woman we know she would become, we are keeping an eternal perspective... This knowledge and unabiding faith in our Heavenly Father’s plan give us comfort during this difficult time." (Alaina Petty’s Family Statement)
Let us not allow our faith in God be shattered. We don’t know how long we will live on earth, but I found after losing my beloved son Michael, that in my deepest of sorrows I KNOW that the prayers that came from all of you, lifted my heart and soul. Prayer is a real DIVINE power! So let us pray!!! Let us pray for these dear families, including the teachers and coaches who sacrificed their lives to shield their students. Pray for our great nation and the world in which we live. Let us pray for unity and the continued freedoms we enjoy... for peace and L❤️VE and above all, to find the wisdom in how to heal!
Hold your family closer today, and enjoy a blessed and #Happy #Sunday! 😘💋