Inspiring Hope

I've been thinking a lot about inspiring hope lately. 

It's my one word for this year

and it's an amazing gift.

Life-changing even.

Hope is woven throughout this guest post I wrote with tips for 

helping kids move through and beyond tragedy to tranquility.

Click the image to go to the post.

Then my friend Sylvia invited me to guest post at her beautiful blog

Learning With Mrs. Parker and, sure enough, more connection. And hope.

Hope is a must when life challenges and overwhelms.

It's pretty much a non-negotiable in seasons of sadness.

In fact, without it there is no light at the end of that tunnel.

This week has been so so dark for my friends at Ross Elementary.

Thursday night as I was presenting a parenting workshop there, tragedy struck and complications from an injury sustained in a collision just outside the school took the life of one of their third graders.

In an instant, life changed for all of them. Forever.

A mom and dad lose their baby girl.

A brother loses his sister.

Grandparents lose their granddaughter.

A class loses their friend.

A ukulele club loses a musician.

A ball team loses a team member.

A school family loses a Roadrunner.

A school counselor loses a superhero. 

There's no way around the fact that her friends and family are in excruciating, unimaginable, unspeakable pain. And the hard truth is they are going to have to lean into the pain in order to go through it and to ever get beyond it. It won't be fast and it won't be easy. There really are no words at a time like this. 

But there is hope.  

In what has to be the most difficult decision ever, the family decided to donate this young angel's organs to save the lives of five children. Just as heaven got its newest angel, five beautiful children for whom things seemed hopeless got the gift of hope for a chance to move forward and live healthy lives. All because of Kelsey. And when I shared her story with our daughter Kaitlyn, she said that she is planning on signing up as an organ donor when she renews her license next month.

So tonight, dear reader, I'm asking for your fervent prayers,

for warm thoughts and wishes of peace, comfort and healing 

for the Ross Elementary school family

and the many friends and relatives of the young girl,

a sweet, joyful soul who lived a lifetime in just eight years,

and who, at losing her life, manages to give 
life-inspiring hope to others.