This morning, I drove by a little girl waiting on the bus to take her to the first day of school.

I had a selfish thought; ‘I am not ready for that day that Bennett has to wait at the bus stop. Will I be when the time comes?’

I could’ve written a post about the first day of school; about how to let your little ones become more independent; about allowing yourself to let go…but that seemed self serving.

Especially when mothers in Mosul and Iraq have to let go of the dream of raising their children; of affording their babes the innocence of childhood and the promise of a full life. While I am worried about the day I send my little one away on a perfectly safe school bus, another mother grieves as her baby dies in the worst way possible.

I’m sure you’ve seen this image. I am sure that it disturbed you as you trolled your Facebook newsfeed. If you’re like me, you scrolled quickly past this image; after all, it hurts to see such a beautiful baby treated so inhumanely.

This baby has the same impossibly sweet cheeks as my little boy. This little baby has the same innocent stare that my little boy has any time we go somewhere new. Only, this little baby won’t have an opportunity to see anything else. This little baby is being targeted because of the faith of her parents and the misdirected faith of her assailants. What hurts the most is that I feel totally and completely helpless to prevent this genocide from happening. When I saw this, I wondered what I could possibly do to help. I am thousands of miles away, inadequately informed, and ill-equipped to help, right?

There are, in fact, a few ways to help. Because I am both supremely motivated to help and incredibly ignorant of how, I am connecting to a few experts on the subject.

Please consider donating, praying, writing, and signing to help these people. I know it is the first day of school and you’ve spent plenty of money getting your kids ready for that trip to the bus stop, but we cannot sit idly while the children of the future and the faith of our forefathers is in danger. No matter your faith (or lack thereof), we must advocate for each other.

Crisis in Iraq: 5 things you can do to help

Find your Senator and Congressman by zip code

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.” Matthew 10:8

“The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31