a good, good Father....

In April 2025, our sweet little baby girl ran away. I didn't sleep or eat for 36 hours until we knew where she was and that she was safe. She then spent maybe a little more than a week away from home but not on the street. In retrospect, it wasn't long... but it was traumatic and terrifying and left us all with some pretty deep scars. Our dear, dear family supported us through it... making sure some of those deep scars didn't end up life-altering wounds. Family members gave her a place to rest her head after the first night while also saying, "I'm not supporting you in doing this to your parents." They checked in to let me know they had heard from her so I could have some peace that she was okay. It was a time in our life I didn't really share widely and that I never want to revisit.

However, the past two months I've thought of it so often. It's odd how closely the timeline parallels when she left for Basic... right in the middle of April. It's crazy how many times I'm missing her right now and thinking but at least I know she's not sleeping on a park bench or being trafficked. Even though I would never want to go through that again I am just so grateful it happened because in comparison, the 10 weeks of Basic seem so much easier than the one to two weeks when she had run away.

Our God is a good, good Father. Sometimes that looks like miraculously healing us. Sometimes it looks like bringing back a prodigal daughter. Sometimes that just looks like reminding us how bad it has been in the past and that we got through that so we'll get through this. I'm so grateful for my good, good Father.