Photo of children praying before their first day of school goes viral
A photo of three young children in a prayer circle before their first day of school is going viral on social media, with parents praising it as “the best back-to-school picture.”
Jamisha Harris — the mother of Eugene Jacobs, 10; Jorden Jacobs, 8; and Emily Jacobs, 7 — posted the photo of her children holding hands in prayer before heading to the bus stop on Monday. In her Facebook post she wrote, “I’m feeling nervous and a little unsure but thankful.”
She went on to write, “I pray for my children on their first day of school.”
After being reposted on Louisiana’s local news channel WAFB’s Facebook page, thousands of parents have reacted to the back-to-school prayer, which is resonating in the wake of recent tragedies.
“Praise God! May He bless and protect his little children as they start this school year. Cover our teachers and staff also,” one commenter wrote. “Kudos to these parents. We can pray anywhere, anytime.”
Another said, “This is awesome! Need a lot more of it to bring this country back to its roots.”
Harris tells Yahoo Lifestyle that praying is something that she and her husband do every day with their children. But as they’re headed off to school, it’s even more important to pray that they stay safe.
“All day every day I think about my children and that I’m not at school with them to protect them if any tragedies [were] to happen,” Harris says. “Because of the recent tragedies that’s been happening all over the world it’s no peace in being a mother because I’m always worried about shooters, bullying, sexual assault ... anything that can harm my children.”
In order to combat some of the anxiety she feels when her kids go to school, Harris says she teaches them about the importance of listening to their teachers in the case of an emergency. Still, she worries every day.
“With all these tragedies happening the only thing I can do is raise them right and educate them on life and to always pray together,” she says.
Now, Harris hopes that the people seeing the photo of her children feel inspired by it.
“I hope it just brings peace to the parents and student on their first day of school,” she says. “They may have [taken] praying out of school but not out of God’s children.”
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