Tonight I had to talk myself into writing. It is not that I am without something of which to write, but instead I am writing with a sad heart. I have already posted a couple of times wondering what is happening to this world, but the question tonight comes from an entirely different place. The subject tonight made me stay away from the evening news for fear of seeing the stories repeated or, worse, hearing others along the same line. Tonight I cry for the children.
I believe that with the advent of the 24 hours news cycle, people have lost their sensitivity to certain stories. They flash across our screen and we hardly give them a second. I started wondering if I would ever feel sympathy or empathy towards others with all of the bad news that is thrown at us. Perhaps it is that my news today did not come from the television, but instead it was read. This meant I took the time to take in every word. With every word, my heart broke into smaller and smaller pieces. I know not these children, but I weep for them as if they are my own.
Please take a moment and pause for these three. While you are at it, pause for all of the innocents who parish due to the idiocies of adults or pure accidents. Please make sure you read about the last child.
While I am happy to report that the parents will now spend 18 years in prison, it does little to bring back their little 12 year old daughter. The pair adopted the young child and then turned her into a study machine for the next 10 years. When they finally tired of her, they killed her and disposed of her body like trash. I have not read all of the information available, but I would not be surprised to find that they found her to be a burden and cause of their divorce.
The second story was just as bad if not worse. A mother plead guilty to throwing her 6 year-old autistic son off of a bridge. She even went so far as to research how to get away with it being showing to be insane. She wanted to be assigned to a psychiatric hospital. In both cases, the parents actually researched how to do the killings. These children, innocent young people, were not given a chance for life. Their selfish parents, animals who had already had a chance to be something, decided that their children could not have the same choice. I sat there thinking of our daughter and cannot understand it. How could anyone look at a child and be determined to cause them to take their last breath.
The final story was one that is sad because of how the youngster passed – she saved one even younger. This story leaves a tear in your eye while also amazed that someone so young can make a choice with which many adults would struggle. The two youngster were playing outside when the 10 year-old realized that an empty car was rolling down the drive. She selflessly pushed the toddler out of the way, saving her. Her parents and three siblings will be able to move forward knowing the heroic deed she did, but without their daughter and sister. I did see that there is a GoFundMe account started for her. The link is: https://www.gofundme.com/wxqrrqec
I guess it is that our daughter is so close to in age to all three of these children. I cannot imagine having to go on without her. I pray for the parents of Kiera, the young hero. They must now do the unimaginable and say good-bye to their daughter. In all three cases, I wonder what the world has lost because these three are no longer with us. We have all lost with these stories. These are only three of the lost children today. My soul started aching for each and every child lost for any reason; lost yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
I could not help but stop and watch as I picked up our daughter. The playground was full of children. They were running, playing, screaming, and laughing. My mind drifted back to these three children. I can only imagine that they were doing similar things only hours before their lives were taken. I see them thinking that they had so many years still ahead of them. I wonder what dreams they held. What joys they celebrated just before tragedy. I wonder.
I will end by saying that I could not help but also think of the friends and colleagues I know who have also lost children way too early. I do not know their pain. I pause a moment and think of each and everyone one of you. So I end tonight asking that if you have a little one, no matter if they are 8 or 38, hug them. Love them. Never let them go.
Thank you for walking with me tonight. Please keep them in your thoughts.