from heartbreak to hope

A week ago, today, a tragic event shook the school where I work and the community where I live. One of our 5th graders named Joel took his own life. You can read the story here. 

I was in the room with the other 5th graders when our principal broke the sad news. I watched them wipe their tears and write goodbye letters to their friend Joel. I didn't know him well, but all signs say he was a smiley, happy kid, as any 5th grader should be.

Our school community is still figuring out how to cope with this awful situation and it has stirred my pensive mind. Was there more I could have done? Are there more Joels out there that I can reach?

It's hard for me to imagine what drives a 12-year-old to believe that no life at all is better than the one they have, but I suspect that it starts with one little misfortune, frustration, or bad day--then another and another.

My heart grieves thinking about this, but I know that the opposite is true, too: it takes just one smile, one high five, or one short conversation to give someone hope.

Through Joel's tragedy, hope is blossoming.

In the past week I've cherished my time more, held my students a little tighter, and reached deep to find energy when I thought I had given all I had.

In the past week I've seen a community come together and support each other the way that it should.

And in the past week I've seen students rethink the ramifications of what seems like innocent bullying--a conversation that I pray will continue.

A Coldplay lyric comes to my mind at a time like this: "Every siren is a symphony and every tear's a waterfall."  

We're all connected. Our pain is collective and our burdens are shared. We have the capacity to affect each other in ways we don't realize. We can choose to tear each other down or we can decide to build one another up. God, help us choose the latter. Let us see the divine in each person we pass. Let us see each other as brothers and sisters.