As I sit down to write this, my hands are trembling, and my heart is in a state of shock once again, reeling with the news of additional discoveries being made at different residential schools across Canada. Suddenly my words on paper appear so trite and meaningless…knowing that my words alone can never heal what has been broken, can never restore what has been taken and can never soothe the ache of the human heart.
So today…
- I am grieving…because of the devastating loss of young lives.
- I am grieving…because these children were taken from their parents and their communities who were not given the dignity and the opportunity to care for their own children.
- I am grieving…because each one deserved the dignity of a decent burial and even a marked grave.
- I am grieving…because they were forgotten.
- I am grieving…because what has been discovered is not unique to Kamloops, B.C. or Saskatchewan…that many more children needlessly died because of their time in Canada’s residential school system.
- I am also grieving…because these atrocities were done in the name of Jesus Christ, my Saviour. To be clear, Jesus Christ would never have endorsed this vile treatment of people. This is completely contrary to all that Christ taught.
- I am also grieving today…because I have personally known so little of what has been happening.
My prayer going forward is that our hearts will not become hardened either by apathy or with bitterness. But that our hearts will be broken because of the deceptive vileness of the human heart. Yes, I will also pray for true reconciliation knowing that this will not come by words alone but by action across our country. As we have been told, we must listen…we must learn…and we must act.
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