Yesterday
was “Father’s day” …but my mind was my son, Michael. He was there!!! He was full of fun and
laughter! He gave the party. I shared
lunch with His beautiful wife and grown children and I am so grateful! The Lord
saved me from more grief that I can imagine and gave me joy and gratitude in
its place.
It
was a nice, sunny day when we almost lost Michael. We had been given tickets to the World’s
Fair. We enjoyed the “It’s a Small World
After All” ride, ate hot dogs, and then stood in a huge line waiting to get
into another show or ride.
I
don’t remember what we were anticipating because what happened next is glued to
my memory forever.
I
was holding baby Matthew. Patti and Gail stood in front of their father, Rol.
Michael was standing by my right elbow at the edge of the six or seven deep
line. Suddenly, Michael wasn’t there. He
had been jerked out of the crowd by a stranger, tossed over that persons
shoulder and they were disappearing back down the path to my right. The crowd
simply closed in as if nothing had happened.
I
shoved the baby into Patti’s young arms, fought my way to the edge of the crowd,
and began to run. There was no time for explanations or decisions.
I
could hear Michael crying and his voice drove me to run faster than I had ever
run. The path split, his voice came from
the left, and I rounded that bend. I was gaining . I could see the figure
carrying Michael on its shoulder.
Michael put out his hands towards me and and I ran even faster. Suddenly
the figure threw Michael on the ground and raced on.
I
dove for my son, crying, trying to catch my breath and hugging Michael close to
my heart. Rol arrived quickly
considering that he had to fight his way out of the closing crowd, carrying the
baby and dragging two very young girls along with him.
The
person was gone. In some ways I felt relief. I had run faster than I could have
imagined. I was grateful to the Lord for giving me the strength. But I
wondered, and have always wondered; if I should have left Michael by the side
of the path and caught the kidnapper.
What could I..would I.. have done? I have always felt guilt that I wasn’t that
wise or that strong. We never found anyone to report the incident to and I
watched the newspapers for weeks wondering if there had been another
kidnapping. Gratefully, there were none
