Joe Biden Instagram – When the leaders of Mother Emanuel AME asked to pray for me earlier this month, I was reminded of the kindness they have shown me, my family, and others for years. Nearly nine years ago, the congregation of Mother Emanuel AME invited a stranger into their church to pray with them. The word of God was pierced by bullets in hate and rage, propelled by not just gunpowder but by a poison that has, for too long, haunted this nation. Two days after the service of Reverend Pinckney, my family worshiped with them to show our solidarity. But my family also needed to be healed. We didn’t even realize how badly. We had just buried my son, Beau, a veteran who was exposed and died because of the burn pits in Iraq for a year. We were in more pain than we knew. We came to offer comfort, but my family received comfort from the congregation of Mother Emanuel. As I listened in the pews, spent time with the families, visited Reverend Pinckney’s office, and visited the memorial for the victims outside, my family and I grew stronger. We prayed together. We grieved together. We found hope together. And now, it reminds me that, through our pain, each of us must find purpose. For me, that purpose was to live a life worthy of my son, Beau. For the folks of Mother Emanuel, that purpose is for the lives worthy of loved ones lost—to make them proud.