It's already June 2023, Children's Awareness Month. I remember as a little girl my church had a special Sunday in June to celebrate children. We were encouraged to learn poems, speeches, new songs, and even bible verses. It was a special time and all of us kids seem pretty happy. We had a special dinner served to the kids and the whole family enjoyed a time of fellowship, and worship. We sang one of my favorite songs, Jesus loves me. Those days were special to me then and I hope many children get to enjoy being celebrated by adults today!
My heart was broken as I read about 4 children, 6 years old and younger who were killed in a fire. The dad was not home when the apartment caught on fire. It was reported by the Memphis fire department that the fire was an accident and the wiring in the wall caught on fire and all the children who were left alone were killed. The fire department said they believe that the apartment did not have a working fire detector.
This story is very different from the celebration of children I began this blog with. Where is the justice for the children? How can we as a nation protect our children from these types of tragedies? It did not appear to be an intentional act that would cause the children to die. However, the truth is, that the fire did cause the children to die. My heart aches for the whole family as they must put four small caskets in the ground, or have a memorial service with the four babies, smiling in pictures taken in the past. Their lives are gone, and they can never recover. This traumatic event will haunt the lives of many for years to come.
Please take time out to celebrate your kids and grandchildren and the children in your neighborhood and community. Give them the gift of safety, while in your area. Keep an eye out for the kids, even those kids who do not belong to you. You can look out for them and call 911 for them if they need help, or you see they are in danger. As a child, the neighbors, would look out for us, tell on us, and scold us if we were up to no good. It takes a village to raise a child. So, we must stick together to make sure our children are safe.
We were all children at one point in our lives. We were afforded the opportunity to grow up and become adults. We were given the gift of life. Let's continue to be proactive in our community and offer the gift of life preservation. Let us help our children, no matter who their parents are.