歪歪漫画

Local and area news . Our girls are in their fifth year attending Northwood Public 歪歪漫画 and were not on the bus. Their classmates, teammates and friends were.

One thing we learned from in the past is how people covered us in prayer and lifted us up in their own unique ways to give us strength, courage and hope.

That Thursday night, we sat in our living room, the girls would say , and we鈥檇 pray for her.

Name by name, one by one, medical teams, family members, we covered them in prayer, again and again.

One of our daughters said, 鈥淢om, we have to do something.鈥�

I said, 鈥淲e are doing what we鈥檙e supposed to do. We鈥檙e praying.鈥�

In my urgency to do something in my life, I learned my best, most immediate action should and is to pray about it, more than I talk about it. As a younger person, prayer didn't feel like enough. But it is the foundation of who I am and what I know to do first in life. In glorious moments, everyday life to the most painful experiences, we pray.

By the next morning that prayer time extended to the front of Northwood Public 歪歪漫画 at 7:50 a.m. where more than 100 gathered, huddled together in prayers. I cried through my words, but I kept praying for my daughters鈥� friends, our bus driver, for our coach, for the family who lost a loved one, for my treasured friends by their daughters鈥� sides, for the and schools. The community of Hatton held a similar prayer gathering.

Everyone processes trauma differently. What that looks like for each of us varies. The 鈥渄o something鈥� my daughters felt led to a Friday night shopping trip to buy king-sized pillows and pillowcases, a tangible gift we know brings comfort.

On Saturday, our daughters baked pumpkin muffins, cooked chicken spaghetti in disposable foil pans to share, and then visited friends.

We gathered again as a family in the living room for prayer.

On Sunday morning, I felt heavy and tired as we walked into our small-town church. I followed my family in, praying for joy and peace to fill me.

Inside the door, a sign of peace came when two of our daughter Elizabeth鈥檚 classmates who were in the bus accident stood. Broken, bruised, stapled, stitched, they came to church.

I was in awe. Seeing prayers answered in person filled me with the peace I was seeking in that moment and continued.

Later in the day, first at the monthly 4-H meeting and then at a golf team supper, more injured friends showed up who I knew were hurting.

My prayers became more specific as the days continued. I hold a deeper understanding now how people pray for others, and how vested they become in a person's healing and recovery by praying for the person.

On Monday, the Region 3 Class B girls' golf tournament was held in Devils Lake, postponed from Friday. Three of our six varsity golfers who were scheduled to golf on Friday were in the bus accident.

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The welcome the team pulled up to find the opposing golfers and coaches holding Thunder Strong volleyball signs.

. Combining the intentional acts of love and care creates beauty in the midst of brokenness.

My perspective on life, people, raising kids and how we choose to live our life changed from walking through our family鈥檚 trauma journey. Seeing the response to the Hatton-Northwood bus accident jostled me again to love others above all things.

There are 27 survival stories of each volleyball player, their coach and bus driver. They鈥檙e each here to keep living. Pray for their complete recovery and healing.

The only way I know to get through life, through the pain, loss and brokenness we each experience at times, is to keep going. Sometimes it鈥檚 to get to the next hour. Some days it is to walk into church, to go to the 4-H meeting, to take off a day of work to attend the regional golf meet and to walk into the gym to cheer on the junior high volleyball teams.

I witnessed this ability to persevere by many this past week.

Whether near my community or far, you most likely understand how rural communities rally around one another in difficult times. The action of doing something to help changes outcomes for others.

On Tuesday evening, our Hatton-Northwood seventh- and eighth-grade volleyball teams joined hands with the opponent ahead of the first match. The younger sister of a player in the bus accident led a prayer.

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From social media, I see group prayer happening now across rural to big city gyms across our state and region, taking action by praying.

The next time you feel a 鈥渄o something鈥� nudge, do not brush it off. Pray first and then go where you are led to help others.

Pinke is the publisher and general manager of Agweek. She can be reached at kpinke@agweek.com, or connect with her on Twitter @katpinke.