I went to Adoration for a little bit today to pray for the family, including the mom, of the babies who were recently killed here in Mandan.

As always, sitting in the Adoration chapel brought a peace to my heart. My heart still aches over this whole tragedy, though. I don’t know that it will be something I can just stop thinking about anytime soon.

While I was sitting there, I kept thinking about how much God loves us and how He calls us to love others.

This young mother’s struggle could be ANY mother’s struggle. And I will keep repeating that!

I’ve talked about my own struggles with PPD. Not every mother is going to experience PPD or a postpartum mental health crisis. But every mother COULD. That’s the part I wish people would remember.

We don’t know what is happening inside another person’s mind. We don’t know what someone is fighting behind closed doors. And while I don’t believe mental illness excuses what happened, I also believe we should look at this mother without hate in our hearts. Oh. I get it, though. Hate is easy. The need for vengeance is easy. Wishing harm to her is easy.

There are babies who lost their lives. There is a family who will never be the same. There needs to be justice. I believe those things completely.

But I also believe we can pray for their mother.

We can pray for the babies and honor their lives. We can pray for their family. We can pray for the prosecution and defense attorneys and everyone involved in this case, that God gives them wisdom and helps them reach the decision that best serves justice.

And we can pray for this young mother, too.

I don’t have to understand everything that happened to have compassion. I don’t have to excuse something to pray for someone. And I don’t have to choose between wanting justice and having love in my heart.

Maybe that’s what God was reminding me of today.

We are all human. We are all capable of struggling. We are all capable of needing help.

My heart is with this family. I pray for those babies, for everyone who loved them, and yes, I pray for their mother.

I just wish more people could remember that compassion and justice don’t have to be enemies.

FYI, I know two of the children passed away from their injuries so special prayers for the deceased children.

(AI disclaimer: the prayer graphic was made using AI.)

#PrayForThisFamily #PostpartumMentalHealth #MentalHealthMatters #PrayForJustice #ChooseCompassion