Don't Miss the Real Lesson From the Texas Hill Country Tragedy
Also, find ways you can help the community.
As flood waters began to swallow the Hammond family car in the pre-dawn hours of July 4, 17-year-old Malaya pried open a door that allowed her parents and siblings to escape. Malaya is said to have been singing a spiritual song while the current swept her away. After her body was found a couple of days later, Malaya’s family went back to the river to pray for her soul.
Two sisters, Blaire and Brooke Harber, were staying in a cabin with their grandparents along the Guadalupe River when the flash flood occurred. They did not survive. They were found holding hands, a pair of rosaries by their side.
The parents of Joyce Badon responded with unimaginable strength after learning their daughter had died in the flood. "God showed us the way we should go this morning!" Joyce’s mother wrote. "We found our lovely daughter who blessed us for 21 years!” Joyce had been staying with friends in the Texas Hill Country. “We pray to be able to find her three friends soon. Thanks to EVERYONE for the prayers and support. God is good!” Joyce’s mom concluded.
Renee Smajstrla's family took the time to think about others while announcing that their daughter had died in the flood. "We are thankful she was with her friends and having the time of her life, as evidenced by this picture from yesterday. She will forever be living her best life at Camp Mystic. Please continue to pray for the other families in Kerrville.”
A group of evacuated campers sang praise to God as a bus drove them to safety.
How many of us could find such strength and peace amid tragedy? It is a testament to having faith in something awesome and powerful, beyond the confines of this world.
Meanwhile, armchair quarterbacks sat safely in their dry houses or television studios, furiously searching for ways to politicize a tragedy. If Trump hadn’t made federal cuts, these people would still be alive, they claim. MAGA people in Texas voted for this, they cry. A doctor in Texas lost her job after wishing on social media that “all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry.” MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow started a segment somberly remembering the more than 100 people who have died, then quickly launched into a five-minute account of how Trump’s cuts to the NOAA might have made the situation worse than it needed to be.
Politicized tragedies turn victims into pawns for a scheme with no winners. The biggest losers are not the politicians facing the wrath, but the victims themselves. Anger over what a politician should or shouldn’t have done takes away from the care and compassion that people deserve.
The real lesson in the Hill Country floods is not that one political party is more effective than another. It’s that life can be very brief, so appreciate what you have for as long as you are gifted with it. That’s what the families experiencing great loss are teaching us. Are we willing to listen?
If you would like to help the Hill Country communities affected by flash flooding, here are some good options:
Blueberry Hill Farm and Rescue (in memory of flood victim Eloise Peck)