Can't get it out of my head.

I generally don’t watch the news. I will catch it on occasion, but I don’t make a point to watch it every day. Some will think this is crazy. I know the argument is that one needs to stay caught up on what is going on in this world. I get that. I just can’t bring myself to watch it day in and day out though. The reason I don’t watch it is that I will see some heartbreaking story about some abuse, or murder, or even worse, and then that story will just stick with me for days.

I know there is evil in the world. I have to do my part to shield my children and even myself from that evil as much as possible. There are sad occasions though when you come across situations that you can’t avoid by just turning off the television.

I was pulling in to Publix on Friday afternoon to do my shopping. (Another good week for me….I spent $93.00 for $210.00 worth of groceries!) As I was pulling past the entrance, I noticed a couple coming out with several bags of groceries each. What caught my attention was that he had on bright orange and she had on crimson from head to toe. I thought they must be another divided family, by routing for Auburn and Alabama. I didn’t think much else of it, as I drove around to find a space. When I pulled into the parking space, I noticed the car beside me was facing backward in the space, which gave me a good view of what all was going on in the car. I noticed this same couple lighting up their cigarettes and yelling toward the backseat. I looked in the back seat and saw a little boy, that couldn’t have been older than 18 months sitting there. He was being chewed out by his father for what?!?! It was awful. Then it dawned on me, “Where was this little boy when they were coming out of the store!” Just then they drove off.

I sat there processing all of what I had seen. They had to have left him in the car while they were in the store. They each had several bags of groceries so it wasn’t a quick trip inside. What was going through his mind while his parents had just left him in the car for that long??!!! Was he crying because he thought he had been abandoned? Did he enjoy breathing in that cigarette smoke while all of the windows were rolled up??

If only I had been 5 minutes earlier and saw this situation! I would have called the police. Would my 5 minutes have made a difference in his life?

I just sat there in my car for a long while and prayed for this child. I know there are sad situations everywhere. I know there are people out there that have no business being a parent. All I can do at this point is pray for this precious child of God and hope that his parents will turn from their ways of parenting or that someone close to this family will step in and do what is best for this child.

I just want that afternoon back, to try and make a difference.