Granger Smith’s wife speaks out about comments regarding son’s death: 'I forgive them'
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JUNE 25: Granger Smith and Amber Smith visit Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas to present a donation in memory of their son, River Kelly Smith on June 25, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas - Granger Smith’s wife, Amber, is speaking out three years after their son, River, died in a drowning accident in June 2019.
On Tuesday, Amber shared an exchange under an Instagram post to her story in which she received a hateful comment regarding River’s death. In the thread, Amber left kind words on a post where a family appeared to have lost a child.
"All of us mamas who know this pain have been praying so hard for your family," Amber commented.
"We are all rallying around you and are here for you. Light will come from the dark. He is working. Bless you for blessing others in your deepest hurt. Sending all our love."
An Instagram user responded to her comment and wrote, "This makes me soooooo mad! Why would you be such irresponsible parents?!? Teach babies to swim, fence the pool, PROTECT your children! This is your fault, you KILLED your win kid. Truly disgusting."
With the screenshot of this conversation she shared on her Instagram story, Amber wrote a Bible scripture.
"James 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."
She added: "I can't fault these people. We live in a fallen world. It's taken me 3 years to not let these comments hurt me, but I forgive them. I am rooted in Jesus."
The couple opened up about their son’s tragic death in a YouTube video posted in June 2019. The "Backroad Song" crooner said he was doing gymnastics with his now 10-year-old daughter, London, as his sons, River and Lincoln Monarch, 8, were playing with water guns. He recalled thinking to himself that he should "soak up this moment because it’s not going to last."
The star said he found himself performing CPR by their pool just minutes later.
The couple said, at the time, that they’re taking solace in their faith, with Granger explaining that "God gave River to us for three years and that was his mission."
"I don’t think God takes anyone too soon. I believe he was put on this earth for the exact amount of time," he said. "He lived a good 1,000 days. That’s a huge example for me and how we’re going to look at every single day."
The couple have since donated over $200,000 to the hospital that treated River before his death.
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Fox News' Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.