I heard my phone make a
strange noise on Saturday. I first thought that it was from a local weather
station, perhaps, warning of inclement weather.
I was getting ready to
officiate an outdoor wedding and the weather outside looked threatening.
Perhaps this would let me know where the wedding ceremony would be; outside on
a grassy hill that had decorations and seating all ready to go or inside under
a pavilion where all of the tables were set up for the reception.
I picked up my phone to see
what they were saying and noticed that instead, this was an “Amber Alert”
informing me that a five year old girl had just been abducted, and gave a
description of the child, the vehicle, and the would be abductor.
My heart sank in my stomach!
I am the father of six adult children and five grandchildren.
One of my grandchildren is a
little girl who is the same age.
I shared the information with
Cathy, finished dressing, and said goodbye to her; she would be driving
separately and meet me at the wedding.
On the freeway, I noticed a
sign lit up with an Amber Alert communicating the same abduction. This time
there was more information along with a photo of the little girl. And my heart
began to become amber with anger.
I went to the wedding,
performed the ceremony, ate a great meal, had a very good time, and went home.
My mind had forgotten about the Amber Alert….and about the little girl.
When I came home, I heard on
the news that they had found the little girl…and that she had been killed…and
found in a swamp…and my heart sank deeper inside of me.
A few days later, the front
of the newspaper came out with the story. A twenty-five year old man had taken
the little girl against her and her family’s wishes. He was now sitting in jail
facing charges for murder, kidnapping, theft of a motor vehicle, and sexual
assault…of a five year old girl! This girl’s claim to fame was that she had
been kidnapped, sexually assaulted, murdered, and buried in a swamp!
As I was turning the
newspaper, another story caught my eye: a twenty nine year old man was facing
first degree criminal sexual conduct and first degree assault for sexually
molesting a 21 moth old child! And then hitting her; beating her up!
I was now seeing red as
righteous anger; hot anger was filling my heart as I thought of what the family
of this little girl was going through. Soon their faces and names and the
little girl’s face would be on every newspaper and television.
In time they would be forced
to plan a funeral as they tried to make sense of this tragedy. In time they
would be forced to ride a wave of emotions as they sat through the trial. This
is not how this little girl was supposed to be remembered! This is not how this
little girl’s life was supposed to be played out!
Proverbs 4:23 came to my mind
in a variety of versions: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring
the issues of life.” (NKJV)
“Guard your
heart above all else, for
it determines the course of your life.” (NLT)
“Above all
else, guard your heart, for
everything you do flows from it.” (NIV)
“Keep vigilant
watch over your heart; that’s
where life starts.” (MSG)
And Romans
12:19 & 21: “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is
written, “Vengeance is
Mine, I will repay, “says the Lord.”...“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good”.
So I prayed:
For the family of the little
girl-I couldn’t imagine their pain…my heart weeps for them and their loss.
Someone once told me that death of a child is like losing one of your arms: You
have to learn to adjust to the loss but you NEVER get over it.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes;
there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)
For the family of these two
men who soon would have their lives dragged through the media as well. This is
not how their children were to be remembered. No parent should have to go
through watching their children’s faces on the news for sexually assaulting and
murdering anyone, let alone an innocent child.
And for these two men; yes
even them. I thought of them sitting in a jail, detained, wondering when
someone would try to serve their own form of justice and take their lives. May
God have mercy on their souls...
