It was June 21, 1967, fifty-six years ago, a day I will never forgot, though it took my daughter asking me to tell it to her again, that inspired me to share an experience that might save a life!
Nineteen years old, I was at a bus station in Little Rock, Arkansas on the way to get married on June 24th, when a young man followed me up to the ticket stand and asked me where I was going.
Almost speechless, I replied I was going to Stamps, Arkansas.
The woman behind the desk noticed and asked me to stay and go with her to have coffee.
When it was time to get on the bus, the man followed close behind, boarding the same bus as I did sitting close to the front, not far from where I sat.
When we arrived at my bus stop, out in the middle of nowhere,he also got off the bus right behind me.
Had it not been for Charles, my future husband, who was waiting to pick me up at four o’clock, in the morning, I might not be here today to tell a story that needs to be told, because we never know who might be following us.
As parents we cannot watch our children close enough because we never know when a kidnapper might be lurking, waiting to snatch a child or adult.
According to a recent study every 40 seconds a child goes missing somewhere in the United States. There are more than 460,000 missing children each year. Of those missing children, almost 1,500 of them are kidnapped.
Not long ago it was reported on the evening news, that there were two young children, from different families, who were separated from their parents, while out in public, and were found by total strangers who helped them to be reunited with their parents which leads me to a point I want to drive home by telling a story of a young girl who wasn’t found for eighteen years.
Jaycee Lee Dugard, a kidnap victim, was snatched in 1991, when she was eleven years old, while waiting for her school bus with her stepfather in full view but out of reach.
She was held captive, in the kidnapper’s backyard shed, for eighteen years before she was discovered on August 26, 2009. She gave birth to two daughters by the time she was in her early teens.
Having grown up in an abusive orphanage I endeavor to make the public aware of what often goes on behind closed doors so we won’t blindly support lost causes.
I speak for those who have no voice. You can easily find Jaycee on the web, and learn about the cause she supports.
It’s not what happens to us but how we grab hold of it and work it into the canvas of our lives.
We each have a story that can make a difference. One way of sharing is by picking up our pens to tell our stories.
The famous motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins, said “a life worth living is worth recording.”
Your experience may save a child from being kidnapped.
We never know how many times God steps out of the woodwork protecting us and helping us share our experiences that may help save another’s life!
A childhood is too precious to be stolen!
Contact Sarah at [email protected]