Well last weekend, our little community and a family very close to my family was facing the unbelievable, there daughter disappeared, she was taken "in broad daylight" and was at the hands of a very dangerous, unpredictable young man. A young man she once trusted, but in recent years and months, has only feared. Kelly and I received word of her disappearance and it simply made our world stand still, we ate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and I told Kelly later, "I don't even remember how the food tasted." We returned home shortly before midnight and I got ready for bed and just began to pray, as I prayed tears filled my eyes. I couldn't comprehend what the family was facing, what the victim was facing and I wasn't sure my prayers were enough. I logged into facebook and so many were active online, I simply posted "No one is going to sleep, we need candlelight and prayer together." The time and place was set, after determining tonight is when it had to happen, tomorrow could be too late. At 12:30, what would become about 22 people would begin to congregate, we stood quietly waiting for others to show and around 12:45 I broke the silence with simply the words "she is strong..." I am not one to share openly about my faith or even speak up in situations such as this, but I felt it on my heart, and so did many others. We prayed, we sang, we cried, we hoped for a joyous reunion. People came, people left, we prayed some more, we prayed for her strength and intelligence to figure out a way to get away, we prayed for her captor to have compassion and set her free. After nearly 14 hours of being held captive, while we held vigil, an extremely faithful young woman was able to convince her capture to take her to an Emergency Room. We started praying at 12:45, she was dropped off at 1:15 at the ER, called home to give her parents the greatest gift, her voice and while still holding vigil we were informed of her safety. Prayers are powerful. Our God is an Awesome God, he reigns from heaven above, with wisdom power and love.
God put it on my heart to pray with friends that night, I don't know why he picked my heart, but I know he saved a precious soul in this young woman and she will go on to do great things. I admire her and hope that I can raise a daughter with her grace, strength and faith in something much greater than us.
I witnessed something many people never get the chance to witness, they just have to have faith in. This young ladies story has forever changed my life and I know that it will be a testimony that will "save" many others lives too.
Never underestimate the power of prayer!
