There are truly no words that can be spoken to ease the pain of the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. What can you say to the parents and families who lost a beloved child? What do you say to a community, whose city is named the safest in Florida to live in and the fifteenth safest in the country, now being listed as a city in which the eighth worst school shooting in the nation occurred?
You don’t say anything. You just be there to listen, and weep. You be there to support the community as it recovers and heals.
From the moment the news broke, the shock, disbelief, and horror of this mass shooting took our breath away. Watching the news reporters and officials break down as they brought us the updates only emphasized the horror of what had transpired. As the story developed and facts came to light of how and why this happened, it still made no sense. We don’t know if it ever will.
We pray for the families to find the strength to endure the pain that will never go away, to relearn how to live life with a semblance of normalcy, and to, above all, express their love for each other and keep that love strong. We pray for a speedy recovery for the injured. We pray for the physically uninjured to have full emotional recoveries. We pray that this never occurs again.
the Parklander