Lost

Will we ever even begin to understand the tragedy of abandonment? The desperation of little boys and girls losing everything they have, several times, within the first few years of their lives? Neither my heart nor my mind can wrap itself around it, that's for sure.

However, there are times in our lives when we get a glimpse of the sheer terror of losing someone very dear to us.

We lost Elia at the mall yesterday. It was packed with people, so there was no glancing up and down the halls to see if we could spot him somewhere. My heart just sank... we searched inside the store, in the neighboring stores, mobilized the sales force and the mall security. Mike went one way, I went the other. It was easy for the security guy to reassure me... "Oh, we'll find him".
Mike did. Not right away - it took us probably 15 minutes or so (It seemed like FOREVER).

He had wandered quite a ways already, but had actually turned around and was heading our direction again. He appeared very somber and quiet, but as soon as Mike scooped him up in his arms, he started sobbing. He said: "I was looking for you, Daddy"... what a frightening moment for a normally quite fearless four year old.

A fellow shopper approached Mike as soon as he found Elia. He had noticed that he seemed lost, but when he tried to talk to Elia, the little Mister would have nothing to do with him (good boy!). So he just followed him and watched out for him from a distance. What a reassuring thought!
Little BoBo is a lot like that. I hope and pray that she is well taken care of (and I have reason to believe that she is) - but it has taken her over three years to find her family to come home to. This makes me so sad. At the same time, her father in heaven has been watching over her. Not from a distance, like Elia's "guardian angel", but wrapped in his arms, day in and day out. Her birthparents didn't feel like they could take care of her, for reasons we will never know or understand, but her creator never abandoned her for one second. What an awsome God we have!

Elia is safe (we call him the runaway bunny), and we all continue to pray that BoBo will soon be too!