The LOU Community is left reeling by the sudden and tragic deaths of Matt, Evangeline and Lincoln Ellington on Thursday and Friday.

From the time the EAGLE was notified about the crash closing all four lanes of Highway 6 to the moment it was announced that Lincoln, who suffered a brain injury as a result of the wreck, had passed, our hearts have been heavy.

One of the plagues of being a parent is constantly fearing the living nightmare of your child or spouse coming into harm’s way. For that nightmare to come true in such a horrible way, is unimaginable. Our sympathies are certainly with Jessica Hogg Ellington and the rest of the family as they grieve.

Also needing sympathy is the faculty, staff and students at Lafayette Elementary. Children are missing their playmates, and teachers are left to help them understand what happened.

While investigating the incident, some things stood out to me: the immediate call to prayer by North Oxford Baptist Church and the many, many people who shared the way Matt Ellington, in particular, led them to Jesus.

If no other comfort can be found in this unspeakable tragedy, we can all rest assured that the Ellington children and their father entered into Heaven together. There can also be comfort found in the number of testimonies given and lives touched by these three people.

The coming weeks, years and months are going to be rife with struggle for all the loved ones left behind.

We as a community must rally around the Ellington family, those who know and love them, and the first responders who worked so hard to save their lives.

Hold your loved ones closer today. While nothing can bring them back, we can all live our lives in such a way as to carry on their legacy and memory. And, we can hold onto the promise that we will see them again.