“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like sharp arrows in a warrior’s hand.”
Psalm 127: 3 & 4
I don’t know if you all are following this unfortunate story of a young girl, Jaycee Dugard, who was kidnapped eighteen years ago by a couple and was unfortunately not found after much search by the authorities. She was however discovered last week, now twenty-nine years old and not alone, she has two daughters the eldest of which is fifteen, both fathered by the husband of the woman, who was said to have snatched her eighteen years ago, as she stood at a bus stop in her community waiting for her school bus.
As this story unfolds, it is said that it was because this man’s wife could not have children why they resort to doing this.
As this story is playing out in the media every day, all I can think about is this young woman’s mother. There is no mention of her father, only a stepfather who has been speaking to the media from time to time, but this poor mother. I can only imagine how she prayed earnestly for the return of her daughter, how she desperately held on to hope that her daughter would be returned to her alive, seeing that no body had been discovered that was identified as her daughter’s.
I can only imagine the emotions that she must be feeling since her daughter’s return. The joy, the anger at the perpetrators and the police who failed to carry out their duties in a thorough manner, which would have put an end to this case a couple years sooner. Most of all though, what I think might be forefront in her mind is getting reacquainted with her daughter and not just her but to get to know her granddaughters as well. I know she had no idea if and when her daughter was returned, the magnitude of all that she would have to be deal with as I know she was not expecting grandchildren and certainly not in this way.
This is when the power of a mother’s love comes into play as she now must put aside all the emotions she is currently feeling for a moment, and must concentrate on the rehabilitation of her daughter and her granddaughters because no doubt they have been traumatized by these persons and the situation they existed in. Her daughter must be able to resume a normal life and the sooner she gets to do that, the better it is for herself and her children. Nothing better than a mother’s love to have her trusting in life again, to give her confidence to love herself again and most of all love her children so that they all can move forward to living a life they probably had no idea they would ever be able to live.
You all should remember the Elizabeth Smart story. She too was kidnapped but lucky for her, she returned to her family after eight or nine months. I was fortunate to have watched an interview with her last week and I was very impressed to see how she handled herself in the interview. This is, I think a testament of her parent’s love and how they work to rehabilitating her so that she now speak so confidently and look back at her experience and relate the lessons she has taken from this experience to the point where she can now offer encouragement and advice to Jaycee. Her father sat with her in the interview and I saw how proud he was of her as he watched her respond to the questions that were thrown at her.
I cannot say enough how painful infertility is, and even though what this couple did is cruel and warrants punishment, I am writing from a place of complete understanding. I am in no way saying that I would have kidnapped a young girl to have mine and my husband’s baby, because this is cold and callous, to say the least, but many times the pain was so unbearable that I can see how one could actually resort to doing something like this. I can actually see how a woman could walk into a hospital and steal a baby because nothing can soothe the pain of childlessness but to hold a baby in your arms, and might I add, however you get one.
Keep this family in your prayers, I ask, and until next time, keep clinging to hope.
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