United in Community

“We are becoming less prepared to face the next big disaster.”

That headline from The New York Times really grabbed my attention this week. I closed my eyes after reading it and sat with the words for a few moments.

The truth is that this has been a hard week to follow the news. In fact, it’s been a heavy, heartbreaking, soul-wrenching week. I’ve read story after story about the tragedy in Texas. About the rapid rise in floodwaters, the failed warning systems, and the vacant positions at the National Weather Service. The finger-pointing has been nonstop. Still, all of it feels like noise compared to the stories about the families who lost their little girls, their loved ones, their lives.

Every parent I’ve spoken to lately who has a child away at camp has said the same thing, in hushed tones: That could have been me.