The Standard July 19, 2025
The unimaginable happened in the early morning hours on July 4th in central Texas. Young girls were asleep in cabins at Camp Mystic, a beloved Christian center founded 99 years ago. Other vacationers also bunked in RVs and in cabins along the Guadalupe River. Although this is part of the area known as “flash flood alley,” no one could have predicted that the river would rise an alarming 26 feet in 45 minutes.
The devastating floodwaters killed over 120 people in Kerr County and beyond. More than 170 still were missing as of last week. Thankfully, rescuers were able to reach and save more than 850 people as the nation prayed. Our prayers and donations will be critical for the near future.
Eight-year-old Wynne Naylor of Dallas was one of the victims at Camp Mystic. Her family has established a fund in her name, offering a remarkable challenge to us all. “If you remove the grief, the stress, the tears of despair and the cries of horror from the days since this tragedy began, you will find how God intends for us to live. Replace grief with hope. Replace stress with servitude. Replace tears of despair with joyful recollection. Replace cries of horror with terms of endearment. This is how our girls danced through this world. This is how they will be remembered. This is how God intends we live.”
Reading the words of the Psalmist Asaph and then those of David reminds us of our need to lay bare our grieving, broken hearts before God. Jesus empathizes with our deepest pain.
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73: 22-26
“Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.” Psalm 86:1-7
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