Pink, Purple, and Prayers for Riley…

I stopped in a first grade classroom and paused to listen to the children learn about “flat sides” of objects. When I was in there they were identifying how many flat sides were on a sphere! I was most impressed that when shown the object, each was able to write “sphere” on their whiteboard! As I continued down the hallway, my thoughts were drawn to Riley Lowrance, our 1st grader who is currently at Children’s Hospital recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor. I was struck by how quickly our lives can change and the importance of recognizing the preciousness of life. As a school community, when one hurts we all hurt. While we have been mindful of not revealing too much information to the younger children, we are lifting Riley and her parents up to the Lord in prayer each and every day. On Tuesday, we prayed a Rosary for Riley. Riley has a long road ahead of her. She will need chemotherapy and radiation. Thank you to each one of you who are also holding Riley and her family in prayer. Some of the children have questions about her illness, others feel slightly afraid. When someone close to us is sick, it can leave us all feeling vulnerable. Many have asked how to help. On Friday, students are invited to bring in $1 and to wear Riley’s favorite colors-pink or purple! If you don’t own pink or purple, that is okay too. We hope to raise some funds to give to the Lowrance family to assist them with gas, food and other day to day costs associated with long hospital stays.