I don’t know about where you live, but where I am it has been rainy on and off all week. This brought to memory two things for two different reasons. I saw a jogger in the rain and it brought this first memory back. While in the car with my mom, I witnessed a jogger vs. car incident. This is why safety says you should walk across the crosswalk to be sure the car or others can see you. A man was jogging across the crosswalk. The car was turning left. As the car was in the crosswalk the man, mid jog, thought to leap on top of the cars hood, rolled over it, and landed on the sidewalk. If he hadn’t taken this quick action, the injuries could have been worse. There was a big crowd of witnesses and an ambulance took him away.
Someone missing…
The second memory is when Erica Baker went missing. She was walking her dog that day, like she had before many times, but in the drizzling rain. My little sister was her friend, so we knew her. We saw her and said “Hi.” We invited her to Church with us, as a normal thing back then. She declined to go. We had already been to our morning Church service, but were on our way to the 6p rosary service at another Church. That was the last time we saw her, walking her dog. Soon after, she was on the news as a missing person. It was devastating to the neighborhood. Who could predict what was to become of the situation?
What happens when someone goes missing…
I was a freshman in high school at the time. The next few days were very busy. We had police come and search our house, since our house was on the path she was walking. They came in, they asked questions and we answered. They did this for every house on our street. In the first few days, they drained the pond to look for her body. One night, we held a prayer service around the pond praying to find her. They found her raincoat in woods nearby. To make it safer, they used this site to build the Greene shopping center. A helicopter was searching over the are of our homes daily for 3 days to a week. My little sister worried about her missing friend. They were both around 9 years old at the time this took place. They were able to find the dog, but not Erica.
Change of perspective…
That changed the way I did things, to an extent. Where I would walk everywhere around her age and up, was now less likely. The area was not as safe as it once was. It was probably the same safety, but it didn’t seem that way. I learned later in life of other dangers that were near us that my mom kept secret. Back then, we would walk to our friends house and call home to let her know we made it. Sometimes, I would forget to call. I am sorry for putting my mom through that and hope she knows it wasn’t on purpose. Some of the times, my mom told me that she would follow me in the van when I walked and I didn’t know. She wanted me to be more independent. This was happening before the Erica Baker incident. My mom cared about our safety.
What does this say?
There are things around you that you are unaware of. Then, things that you are aware of. Despite all the things that could cause harm, you are safe. God is looking out for you in all things. He gives you a choice and with each choice comes potential consequences. The bad things sometimes come because of your actions or someone else’s choice and actions. Speak up, be assertive, set up boundaries and hold to them. Love yourself as I love you. You are loved, worthy, and accepted. I love you. (Isaiah 41:10) This last paragraph is a message God is giving me for my circumstances. It may be for you, too. To God be the glory we have been around and in life this long. Thank you, God, for using my vessel to write a blog. God, I love you and I trust you only.