Our Missing Children

My first article here is a very emotional one. It is of the children that have been abducted recently in American history. Some fight and win their freedom, while some do not. All experiences are tragic, but none make sense to most of us.

Any reasonable and compassionate person is going to ask, "Why?" or "How could God let this happen?" I know, for I am reasonable and I do ask. No matter how much I see the ying and the yang of life, it is a near insurmountable struggle to understand what is happening with the abduction of children.

I have not followed all of the details, but I watched a CNN special where they interviewed the mother of Samantha Runnion, whose name is Erin. Here is a profoundly brave and beautiful woman. How she can pick up the pieces after the death of her beloved daughter, and have the strength for difficult interviews, I do not know. Her wisdom, kindness, and perception cannot be expressed in a few short words. They are wonderful, to be sure.

The difficulty, as she herself stated, is understanding the "why?" Why are these children harmed? That is so difficult of an answer.

I do not broach anything that would lessen her loss, for it is great. I do not cast a careless statement of forgiveness to the perpetrator, with no thought to her experience. I am doing nothing here but expanding on what she herself said.

She stated that Samantha had a purpose. I too know she did. Time and time again when tragedy strikes, people unify. It is the supreme opportunities to express, share, and learn love. There is nothing greater than that. This girl, at the highest level, exchanged her precious life, so that we would know this lesson more fully. That is an angel in my eyes. Her physical presence is lost, but something very great is gained.

There is much loss these days, but there is also a message. "Through loss we find truth in love."

I cry for these people. The parents, the friends, and the siblings. But I also have a duty to look at the bigger picture for that is exactly what they are telling us to do. Just like the mother said, "There was purpose."

I was reminded of that several weeks ago over the abduction of Elizabeth Smart. I just couldn't understand why that would happen. For all my insight and visions into life, I just couldn't take this! Life is so precious. To watch it yanked away so coldly was very taxing on me. It was during this time that I was doing house duties when I became very upset over this abduction. The more I thought about it, the more angry and upset I became. I finally cried out, "I don't care what you say, there is no justification for this to happen!" Then a voice said to me, "What if this was a future Hitler?" Confused, I replied, "Oh, well, that is a different story." But again it replied, "You judge both, but you understand neither."

It was that statement that made me realize how little we understand. What seems painfully obvious isn't necessarily so. Our perception is limited which means we cannot see the grandest of pictures.

Sometimes the most beautiful and advanced souls must perish around us. It is not in vain... ever. It is to teach us. I have to put my passion of the moment aside and remember this, Just as Erin Runnion did. As a beautiful reminder, something was whispered to me. As I tearfully watched the mother of Samantha, so brave and so determined, speaking of the loss of her child, I again questioned the validity of the lesson. But I heard, "What if Christ had not been crucified?" Regardless of religious background, the point is still paramount. We were not there to see that horror, but if we had, we would wail and bemoan the atrocity, but something far greater was taking place. The point is, as hard as it is, refrain from judging and attacking what would seem a blatant injustice. Human purpose is defined in these moments.

This isn't at all a statement about Christianity, or Catholicism. It's a statement about destiny. How different things would be if these "tragedies" hadn't happened. As painful as they are at the time, it is part of the Plan. Each sacrifice is also a gift.

We judge, but we do not understand. All we can truly hope to do is trust. For the truth is out there, but is quite beyond our comprehension.

I leave you with a paraphrase of a dream that I had not too long ago.

A Revelation In My Dream...
I was fighting good against evil.
In my opinion, I was succeeding.
Evil was under my Vengeance, Wrath and Hatred.
In the height of my deliverance of my perceived justice,
Evil morphed and slipped easily from my grasp, and said,
I have always loved you...
The only role I serve in your life,
Is to teach you about yourself,
And how far you still need to come in learning Love.

Anne