We had some nail-biting excitement in our neighborhood last night. Two neighbor girls went missing, last seen playing together in a playground with their loving moms nearby. After the moms looked for probably 45 minutes with no luck, they started asking for help. Frantic, Shauna and I joined the search, walking and biking like banshees up and down the bays surrounding the park. Nothing.
I jump in my car, praying. My kids are praying. Shauna is praying. Up and down the bays, down the alleys, windows down and eyes peeled. Nothing. But praying.
We alerted passerby’s. A few dead end leads. The police were called, and within a few minutes, flashing red and blue lined the streets. And then, a breakthrough. A pedestrian said two girls matching their description were seen two or three kilometers from where home was. Did I mention these girls were small? A unit was dispatched to check the area. Nothing. Our guts start to ache as fear climbs into our minds.
“This can’t be. Oh Jesus, keep them safe! Jesus, please, please let us find them. Let me find them. You know where they are. Show me where they are.”
On a whim, I drive to where the apparent sighting was, a shopping plaza, even though the police have already been there. I sense God directing me to stop the car in a parking lot. To get out. I run into a nearby store to look for them. Nothing. And then I remember one of the moms saying the girls loved animals… and the lights went on in my heart. I jogged over to the local Pet store, just a few hundred yards away. It’s now been maybe 1.5 hours since they disappeared.
And there they are, ooing and ahhing over hamsters and mice. I call one of the moms to break the news, that the girls are safe, and I stay with them in the store until the police arrive. Until they’re in good hands. And I praise you, Lord Jesus, for speaking by your Spirit. Even to boneheads like me. I love you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Whew.