Praying for rain: Grieving with Uvalde

When I was a little girl, I loved to visit our family's general store. My grandfather and his siblings carried on the family tradition of running the store until the early 1980s. The merchandise was divided into thirds: dry goods, groceries, and hardware. My great aunt sold fabrics and notions and would brag that her legs were shapely because she still used a treadle sewing machine. Pop would take my cousins and me to see her at work running the store with their brothers. In retrospect, I think his main goal was to show us off to the patrons. Horner’s General Store was the hub of Uvalde, TX for generations, with claims to fame that include being one of the fifth oldest distributors of John B. Stetson hats in the United States.

If you were to visit the store today, you could rummage around for hours in antique booths. You could also look out the front windows to see the memorials amassed on the town plaza for 19 students and two teachers who lost their lives in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Soon after the shooting, I saw the memorials firsthand. The reality of this horrific tragedy has yet to completely sink in, but isn’t that the way grief works?

I was grateful to spend time with my family and visit with people from all over the state who came to bring help and healing to the community. Florists came from all around, offering to prepare donated flowers for the funeral and memorial services at no charge. A group even traveled from Hawaii to present a blessing and a mile-and-a-half long lei to the community. Service dogs from Lubbock, TX came into town for their second time to offer care to Uvalde Emergency Medical Services. Did you know that mini horses and bunnies can also be service animals? The El Progreso Memorial Library partnered with a nonprofit that assists victims of trauma with mini horses and welcomed both hurting families and gracious helpers into a therapeutic space. The library was flooded with books of all stripes for all ages to help with grief and loss. Storytime has become a place of safety, comfort, and fun in ways it never was before. The Holy Spirit is on the move.

The tragic loss has left the community reeling. To pile on, this is the third driest year in Uvalde County in the past 128 years, drastically affecting water supply and crops. In the aftermath of tragedy and natural disasters, it can be difficult to know how to respond. Just as drought primes the environment for wildfires, tragic loss primes us for some of the most difficult emotions we grapple with: grief, fear, and despair. Left unattended, these strong emotions can be the underpinnings of depression, anxiety, addiction, violence, self-harm, and psychic numbing. They are also a part of the human condition, thus they are a part of our shared experience. And while they may be incredibly painful, they can also teach us a lot about ourselves, the world around us, and our relationship with God.

One way to begin to heal is to turn to the church. Spiritual practices and community worship offer comfort and support. During my visit, I had the honor of attending a gathering of the Uvalde Ministerial Alliance. The group is made up of ministers from about 30 area churches to support one another and the community. In our gathering, we shared Communion, shared our stories, and planned ways to organize resources and care for the community. They are a remarkable group of faith leaders who need your prayers.

I was invited to the meeting by my friend, Sam Garza, who serves as the youth pastor of First United Methodist Church of Uvalde. The Methodist Church in Uvalde was founded shortly after the establishment of the town in 1856. Now a historical landmark, the church represented the western limit of the Methodist movement in Texas. The early congregation brought stability, leadership, and spiritual values to an unsettled frontier. I would say the frontier is once again unsettled, and once again in need of stability.

This church has been part of my faith journey, eventually leading me to ordained ministry. From its founding to today, it has bolstered countless families in the faith. When the school year unexpectedly came to a grinding halt on the day of the shootings, summer plans for childcare had not been arranged, and parents were frightened. So, First United Methodist Church Uvalde opened its enclosed playground and facilities to care for these families regardless of church affiliation. They continue to open their doors to the community to provide a safe place for children to play while their parents work.

Throughout my visit, I was encouraged by the display of scripture all over town. I loved seeing Psalms cited in sidewalk chalk all around the Plaza. Most were psalms of lament, some were psalms of trust, and all were reminders of God’s great love for us despite our circumstances. The memorial sites, along with funeral services, are expressions of the first grief rituals for the community as well as individuals.

If you have ever experienced the loss of a loved one, you know that eventually, everyone goes home. The flurry of activity and attention following loss tends to dissipate after about a month, leading many to feel isolated and alone.

Uvalde has years of repair before them. Please pray for strength as they grapple with grief, fear, despair, drought, heat, and divisiveness. Please pray for all the helpers and leaders in our world who give so freely of their time and talents to be the hands and feet of Christ. Please pray for rain — both a literal and figurative refreshment for a hurting land.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. Still, its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah ~ rest

– Psalms 46:1-3 (NRSV)