- One, I don't do so well with planning something that long term, and
- Two, I don't think I'm the best person for the series.
Oh, well.... I guess I can just enjoy blogging again - freestyle. A lot of stuff has happened this summer in my world. Joyce and the kids have all started back to school. Things got busy really fast. We went on vacation to New Mexico around July 4th. It was really cool weather compared to Wichita Falls. We went and stayed with some good friends in Royce City east of Dallas for a weekend. We bought another van that is more reliable, so now we have two. We have been calling the old beat up van the Blue Whale, but we can't get a consensus for what to call the newer white van. Any suggestions? The "White Whale" was my old pickup, so I would personally be confused if we called the van that. We went hiking once in the Wichita Mountains, going farther with four children than we've ever gone before.
A lot has also been going on in the news. Healthcare reform is the predetermined headliner until they pass whatever they can. Michael Jackson died. Bill Clinton went to North Korea to free some Americans. The most incredible and heart-breaking story is the one of Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was found alive with two daughters after being kidnapped 18 years ago at the age of 11.
What a mixture for her family of happiness and sadness, of joy and pain. I was thinking how do you counsel someone like that? Where does one being? What kind of a person was I when I was eleven, and would I have been able to endure unthinkable captivity? And what is next for her and her daughters? Jaycee's parents lost a young daughter and now have her back as a grown woman with two grand-daughters. Their saga will be far from over, with long term healing taking time, but it is still an incredible story of tragedy for how low some people can be, and hope for a better day. One of the scariest parts of this story is that for 18 long years, not one neighbor or passer-by knew that anything was amiss. They all just went their way while this injustice and abuse went on right in their neighbor's back yard.
I know that the sinister man who kidnapped Jaycee, Phillip Garrido, is bound to give Christianity and homeschooling a bad name. He was a real nut-job, but vocally told everyone that he had an inside track from God, and that God talked to him through a box. He was also proselytizing his strange religion all around his community. Also most of the people who saw the young girls with him at least thought he home schooling the girls. Now people will be second guessing the sincerity of evangelists and the intentions of homeschoolers. I know that some parts of the country are already tough on homeschoolers, but I think this case will invite more call-ins of legitimate home schooling families and more suspicion. I also think this may bring a suspicious backlash against the mentally ill, which should be addressed.
I think the best thing any of us can do is pray and ask God to uncover such injustice and to protect the innocent people involved. Eighteen years of what Jaycee endured is unimaginable, but God, the one true God, is the only one who can heal such a scar. I am praying for her.
--Johnie
