Missing

Rose Gardens, Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA

As a mother comforts her child,

so will I comfort you.

Isaiah 66:13

I vividly remember the day in Arizona when our old Ford truck blew a tire on our way back to the trailer from the grocery store.  My children were ages four, three and a babe in arms, and the vehicle had no jack and no spare.  We were virtually homeless at the time, and lived in a tiny, dilapidated trailer in the desert near New River. I steered the truck onto the shoulder of the little-traveled road, and hustled the children out of it.   It was a warm spring day and we were dressed appropriately, so we just stood by the side of the road – one child in arms and the other two clinging to my skirt – and we waited for help.

Eventually a police vehicle came along – what my father would have called a “paddy wagon.”  The officer tagged the truck, made sure the doors were locked, helped the kids and I into the metal cage in the back of the vehicle, and took us all the way home.  For the older two children it was a grand adventure.  I was simply grateful to be back safe and sound.

Somewhere near Bellevue, Washington today there is a child who is not safely at home.  His mother ran out of gas Sunday morning with her four-year-old and two-year-old children in the car.  Making the decision that she would have to go and find assistance, she took the older child with her to walk a mile to a Chevron station, and left the little boy in the unlocked car.  When she finally returned an hour later, the baby was gone.

Every mother experiences times when hard decisions must be made.  We will never know why this mother made the decision that she did, but we can certainly pray for the safe return of her child.  Won’t you join me in prayer for little Sky – for his safe and quick reunion with his family. 

Today's Prayer Concerns

Little two-year-old Sky who is missing in Bellevue, Washington