When there are no words...

I just watched my 25 month old son leave with his daddy to go get a watermelon...and watched the sheer joy on his face as he waved bye to me, so excited to be riding in "daddy's twuck".  My son loves me, but there is something so unique and special about the bond he has with his daddy...his hero.  In that moment, my mind went to the precious little boy in Georgia(Cooper)- who just weeks ago, left with his daddy to go to Chick fil A and school...probably experiencing the same joy and excitement that I just witnessed.  My mind cannot stop thinking about him and my heart cannot stop grieving for him.  My heart is literally in agony as I consider what that innocent little angel experienced. I cannot imagine the physical torture that he endured...but it's the emotional torture that haunts me the most.  I think about him crying out for his daddy.  I think about him wondering why his daddy, a man he probably idolized, was not coming to save him.  I am literally tormented by these thoughts...and I did not even know this child.  I cannot even begin to imagine what those who loved this little boy are feeling...his grandparents, his aunts, his uncles, his cousins, his daycare workers, his friends' parents, and so on and so on.  

The story of Cooper Harris is haunting to me.  I know and understand that we live in an evil world and there are stories of horror every day, but this one has shown me evil on a whole new level.  I recognize that Ross Harris has not been tried and it is not my place to deem him guilty...that is between him and The Lord...but I am basing this on the information presented yesterday-and the idea that he intentionally left his child to die an excruciating death in a hot car.  I was one of those that truly believed that it HAD to be an accident, because I could not wrap my mind around the idea that anyone could do that to their own child, on purpose.  A CHILD...a gift from God...a child that loves you regardless of who you are...a child that looks to you for love and protection...a child who has been entrusted to you by a gracious God...a child that wants nothing more than to make you happy and to experience that same happiness...a child that loves to give sloppy kisses...a child that loves to be held...a child that loves to read stories...a child that gets excited about life...a child that lights up when they see you...a child that gives you hugs...a child that is a sponge for your affection and attention.  HOW could this have been anything more than an accident??!  There are no words to explain how someone could do such a sinister act of cruelty to a helpless child...much less their own child.

As I watched and listened to the detective share the facts of the case yesterday, I began to dwell on this even more and realized that it was in fact possible.  We live in a sinful and fallen world and stories like this make me all the more aware of how the devil comes to conquer and destroy.  As it says in 1 Peter 5:8, "the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to destroy". We live in a world full of pain...so I am oh so thankful to have a Savior that I know is in control...even in the darkest of stories.  I have found myself praying specifically for our society after what I heard yesterday...praying for our country to turn to Jesus.  I feel like this story has disturbed me to the core because it hits so close to home...being that he is from Tuscaloosa, and I have friends who know him personally.  Friends who vouched for him and believed there was no way he was capable of such a heinous and unimaginable act.  If this story has affected me to the magnitude that it has, then I can only imagine what those who knew him are feeling.  Praying today for all of those affected by this tragic and unnecessary loss...

Psalm 9:

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you;
    I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.

For you have upheld my right and my cause,
    sitting enthroned as the righteous judge. You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;
    even the memory of them has perished. 

The Lord reigns forever;
    he has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness
    and judges the peoples with equity. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
 Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
    proclaim among the nations what he has done.
 For he who avenges blood remembers;
    he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
    Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
 that I may declare your praises
    in the gates of Daughter Zion,
    and there rejoice in your salvation.

 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.
 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
    all the nations that forget God.

But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
    let the nations be judged in your presence.

Strike them with terror, Lord;
    let the nations know they are only mortal.