I had to turn up the television when I heard the reporter tease the story. What? Two missing women found after 10 years? How does this happen? In Cleveland Ohio? Who does something so heinous? As it turns out, three women and a six year-old child were rescued from a home not far from where each went missing a decade ago.
Remember Jaycee Dugard, Elizabeth Smart or Elizabeth Fritzl? All three were held captive by men who tortured them and robbed them of normal life. A crime so inconceivable most of us struggle to even imagine it. In what can only be described as miraculous all three were saved from the horrors of their abductors and now live private lives filled with healing & innocense lost.
The details of this latest story are still unfolding. It's safe to say that these women were not being held for anything other than some sick twisted purpose. The 3 men arrested were brothers who to the outside world appeared to be normal people. Each of the victims were taken from the same area neighborhood and were being held within 3 miles of the spot from which they went missing.
So close….. I can't even process it!
This case just boggles my mind and stabs at my heart. As a mother of 2 beautiful girls….how do you hold onto hope that your missing child is alive? How can you take your mind to a place that understands the evil of a captor and his wicked plans? No person can honestly manage such information without going mad themselves. Perhaps we (through God) are protected from such thinking. There's no other way to explain it.
For now, we are empowered with knowledge. Just knowing that something so awful can happen and then seeing the outcome of being found again should give us all hope. Hope that evil can be overcome. Hope that the lost can be found. Hope that what someone means for evil God means for good.
How can we protect ourselves and our daughters from such a crime?
1 — Be aware of your surroundings. Watch who's watching you.
2 — Play it safe. Don't walk alone and take familiar routes only.
3 — Be prepared to fight. Never make 2 crime scenes.
4 — Recognize that "weird" feeling. Know when your instincts are telling you to BEWARE!
5 — Always communicate with family/friends your whereabouts. I don't care if you're 20 years old. Check in with someone!
6 — Understand there are crazy people who mean harm to others. Don't live with your head in the IT WON'T HAPPEN TO ME sand!
Father,
I rejoice at the news that these women have been found. Only YOU can heal their heart, mind & bodies. My prayer is that they would be fully restored and that they would know without a shadow of a doubt that YOU LOVE THEM & SAVED THEM!
Amen
Tags: abduction, held captive, kidnapped, missing girls, stolen life