Brian was clear on the other side of the country, a place he had never been before, the United States was a lot bigger than the maps seemed to show, it had taken nearly the entire day to get here, car, plane, then rental car, and now that he was here, it struck him that he had no idea where to go. “Hey buddy, are you color blind, green means go, move it!” There had been a lot of that lately, staring off into the nothing, trying to figure out what to do next. He pulled over to a convenience store parking lot, turned the car off and pulled out the detailed map of the large city that he had purchased at the airport, it was daunting to say the least, there had to be hundreds, thousands of different roads, and he did not even know if Jennifer was here.
“What do you mean she’s gone?” “She’s gone Brian, she’s not here, she didn’t come home from school, and when I called, they said she hadn’t been there all day.” A few more telephone calls to her known friends, a frantic search of the neighborhood availed nothing, it was only when they began to go through her room that the possibility of the horror of the truth began to sink in. Jennifer’s favorite clothes were missing, along with some of her prized personal belongings, and a further search of the house revealed not only the small suitcase from the basement was missing, but nearly all the spare cash that Brian kept in the bottom drawer of the dresser in he and his wife’s bedroom. The police were called, came, and then left, they were polite and compassionate as possible, but they made it clear that this was not an unusual occurrence, that these things happened everyday many times over.
Brian’s wife had been a mess for the last three months, the doctors had prescribed some pills that basically turned her into a zombie. The care and maintenance of the home had pretty much been taken over by their son, barely sixteen, and having serious difficulties of his own with the situation. “Everyone dad, I talked with everybody she’s known since she was born practically, like I said, her friend Alison said all she knew was that she had been talking to some older guy online, Jennifer didn’t even tell me anything about it.”
A neighbor lady from down the street had come to the door three days after his daughter’s disappearance and informed him that she had seen a small blue car pull up early in the morning of the day Jennifer had gone missing, but all she could tell Brian, and eventually the police, was that it was a small blue car with a white top. Jennifer had of course taken her phone with her, leaving nothing but unanswered questions and thoughts too terrible to consider. Three days had turned into three months so quickly, and now Brian sat in a parking lot thousands of miles from home wondering what made him think to come here in the first place, he could have just as easily gone any other direction.
Head on the steering wheel, his heart in the pit of despair, Brian began to come to the conclusion of the unthinkable, he may never see his daughter again. “You all right there son, anything I can do for you?” “Yeah, you can find my daughter for me.” The guy looked to be in his eighties, leaning on an old wooden cane with both hands, looking like he could fall over at any moment. “Oh, hey, I’m sorry, it’s just my daughter ran away from home three months ago, I’m lost, I don’t know where to go next, and…….” The tears were uncontrollable, the sobbing and shakes could not be stopped, but when the old man put his hand on Brian’s shoulder they did, and not only did they stop, but he felt a peace come upon him, a calm he had not known for many years, even the noise of the busy city seemed to become still. “Let’s go inside and talk young man, I know someone who can help you.”
Three days had turned into three months, and had now become three years. Brian and his wife still did not know the truth of what happened to their only daughter, and many times they would find themselves staring out the window of their house, holding each other tightly while hoping to see her come walking up the driveway. Their son had not yet understood the faith they now held in Christ, a faith that brought calm assurance, they prayed each day for him while he attended college far away, they gave praise to God for the peace that he had brought into their lives. Their hope of Jennifer’s return had not waned, but their faith in the promises of Christ were enough to carry them each day, the knowledge that He was carrying this burden with them was enough to see them through each day and into the next.