Heart Broken

This week I had the biggest reality check.... ever. And to say the least- it has rocked my world. It started with a phone call my brother made to my mom (that she then relayed to me) and he started by saying "Mom, do you want to know the most horrible thing ever?" As my mom is telling me this I am thinking- he got in a fender bender or received another speeding ticket or a little worse, that he lost his job as a molly maid at school. But what he was about to reveal has consumed me morning, noon, and night ever since.

You may have seen it on the news "Cincinnati Christian Professor Leaves 11 month Old Baby to Die in Mini-van." My brother walked out of class on Wednesday afternoon to find police tape surrounding a mini van, a coroner's van, and a woman laying face down in the grass. This woman has been the center of my thoughts and prayers, Jodie Edwards has broken my heart.

Yes, it has happened again. A good person, a good mommy at that, forgot her child in the car as she walked into work on Wednesday morning. There was a change in childcare last week in the Edward's family and this minor change resulted in a major disaster. This is the first such case that I have heard of since Ivy was born. And being that Jenna, Jodie's daughter, was so close to Ivy's age I feel like I have been mourning right there with her. I have prayed, just as she asked publicly, for her husband to have understanding, for her to be able to continue being a mom to her 3 year old son, and for the legal process to go smoothly. As I pray for her comfort and for her family I get so torn up. I don't know if I am saddened because I look at Ivy and think about what Jenna went through or because I look in the mirror and think about Jenna's mom and the pain she will feel every day of her life.

Regardless, of what is breaking my heart, I want this to remind us all to slow down. We are always in such a hurry and so consumed with the balancing act of working and taking care of children and husbands that we miss things along the way. Sometimes these are small things like leaving the coffee pot on or not returning a phone call and sometimes we overlook big things like Jodie did last Wednesday. I can't imagine what that family is going through- I feel like I have been through the ringer and I am VERY removed from the Edward's family. Let's just continue to pray for them and let this be a lesson of some sort to the rest of us. Sorry to be so depressing but this has been so heavy on my heart. I just had to share.

*You can find the newpaper articles if you google the subject but be warned some of it is quite disturbing.