Today for a brief time I felt what it would feel like to have a child abducted. Sounds horrible, and it was all me jumping to conclusions, but I felt the emotion for a brief time and it was unforgettable. It wasn't even with my youngest child, but my oldest. Jayden is a responsible 12 year old and very cautious. In fact I encourage her to go into a store without me just for her to gain independence and feel comfortable without having to be with me all the time. There are often 8 year old kids running freely in the mall. In the Des Moines mall, I told Jayden I needed to go in a store briefly to buy something while she went across to her store. Her favorite store “Justice” was directly across from my store. I got what I needed and was out of the store in 5 minutes. I went across to Justice and did not see Jayden anywhere. I was not worried, just curious where she would be that I couldn’t see her. I didn’t think she would try on anything in the dressing rooms without me, and I knew she would not leave the store to go to a restroom without me. I walked back through the store and asked the 2 sales ladies if they had seen a tall blonde 12 year old girl with a hoodie. They said there was just a girl in with her grandpa. I went back to my store and looked all through thinking she was probably looking for me. No, Jayden. This time I went back to her store and said her name several times in the dressing room. I began to get anxious and hearing about a girl with her grandpa got my mind wandering. I asked the sales ladies again what the girl looked like that was with her grandpa. They said tall, blonde, light complexion, carrying a shopping bag. My stomach was knotting up and I said that was not her grandpa. They assured me that the girl seemed to really know this man as her grandpa. I just could not figure where Jayden would go, she would not leave any store without me. I looked out the store several times and told the ladies if they saw a girl to tell her to stay there until I got back. I walked between the stores looking in both directions. “Where would she go?” My mind was going 100 miles an hour and it just wasn’t like Jayden to go anywhere without me. I was thinking of her looking for me and I knew she would be panicking . I was getting so anxious I had to stop myself and pray and I did over and over as I went back toward my store and looked around. That’s when Jayden came walking out of the Bath & Body Works store next door. Mis-communication, when she told me she would go in the store, I was thinking “Justice” store when she was thinking Bath & Body works. That is another favorite store next door. I gave her a hug and told her I was looking everywhere for her. All the relief came flooding back into me and after several minutes my legs began to have feeling again. I had begun to feel numb. It was a horrible feeling and I cannot even begin to imagine the horror of having someone kidnap and take your child. I know that I jumped to conclusions, but time seemed to stop and I was thinking what I should do. I wanted to stop everyone in that mall, close all the doors and not let anyone out. I wanted a loud speaker to tell her where to go. I wanted security. It was an awful feeling, and she is 12. The rest of the day we walked holding hands wherever we went. We spent the afternoon at the Iowa Horse Fair. I thanked God in my prayers and it was a reminder how precious this gift is to me.
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