News has by now spread around the nation, maybe even to some other nations as well, a baby left in a car all day was found dead by the child's own father. This happened in Helotes, just south of San Antonio. This is a terrible and completely avoidable tragedy, but it happened.
I can say that just a few years ago, even a few months ago, I would be on the band wagon calling for the neck of the person who left a child in a hot car...in this case, by the infant's own father. The events leading to the child's death were fairly mundane. A new father is supposed to drop off his child at a sitter on the way to his job. Was he late to work? Did he have some problem weighing on his mind? For whatever reason this young man went in to his job and left his infant son in the backseat of his car. The baby perished in the heat...not being found until the father clocked out of work and returned to his vehicle.
Yes, I know...there is NEVER A REASON that a child should be forgotten in a car. And yes, a person should be punished for leaving a child to die in a car. But today, maybe with getting older, maybe with having seen so much along the way to where I am now, I am not full of anger and rage at this man. No, I admit, I do not understand how one forgets that his or her child is buckled into a car seat. Modern infant carriers are so complicated that it would seem almost impossible to go through all the necessary steps of strapping in a child then forgetting about the child. But it happened. A child is dead, so needlessly.
I have no connection to the family that lost this child, and I do not even remember the name of the father now, but for some reason this terrible event has lingered in my mind since I read about it yesterday. I cannot imagine the agony that baby went through and I do not want to imagine it. Now that child is in the arms of the Good Shepherd and will never suffer again. But someone else is in agony now, and the care of the Good Shepherd may be unfelt by him at this time.
Yes, I am talking about the child's father. He may face criminal charges, may be convicted on those charges, and could even spend a year or more in prison. I have a feeling that even if this man spent fifty years in prison, he would still never get over causing this child's death. Even if he serves only one year in jail and is freed, this man will never be free of the burden that he failed to protect his child. I have to say that I will never understand how a father forgets his child in a car...but I feel sympathy for this man as well.
What! You must be crazy, Mr. Meeks!!
Well, like I said, a few years ago, or maybe even just a few months ago, I would have called for this man's head. Today, not so much. I know that if I choose to judge someone, then the Good Shepherd will judge me with THAT SAME MEASURE (Matthew 7:1-3, emphasis mine). I cannot fathom how this man left his baby in a car, but I can feel to some extent what he is going through now, having lost an infant son myself. No, I did not cause the death of my little angel, but I was still so indescribably heart-broken, sad, angry, and angry at God, above all. So sad for my lovely bride, and so sad for all the plans we had made in our minds concerning this child.
This is where I can sympathize, in a way, with this man and his family. He will have to live with the results of his poor judgment and negligence for the rest of his life. And, he will have to live with the knowledge that he caused this indescribable level of suffering and pain for his family. There is a great probability that some of his loved ones will shun and revile him. Perhaps his wife will never forgive him. Perhaps some of his friends and relatives may never forgive him. Living with himself after causing his son's death will worse than any amount of time in prison...because even if he never spends a day in confinement, he can never escape from his mental and emotional prison.
I will go out on a risky limb here myself and say that I am praying for this young man, that he lives over this and is able to someday forgive himself, with the help of God. And I also pray that young parents across the nation will remember to watch carefully for their children, and to protect them as fathers and mothers should do.
I can say that just a few years ago, even a few months ago, I would be on the band wagon calling for the neck of the person who left a child in a hot car...in this case, by the infant's own father. The events leading to the child's death were fairly mundane. A new father is supposed to drop off his child at a sitter on the way to his job. Was he late to work? Did he have some problem weighing on his mind? For whatever reason this young man went in to his job and left his infant son in the backseat of his car. The baby perished in the heat...not being found until the father clocked out of work and returned to his vehicle.
Yes, I know...there is NEVER A REASON that a child should be forgotten in a car. And yes, a person should be punished for leaving a child to die in a car. But today, maybe with getting older, maybe with having seen so much along the way to where I am now, I am not full of anger and rage at this man. No, I admit, I do not understand how one forgets that his or her child is buckled into a car seat. Modern infant carriers are so complicated that it would seem almost impossible to go through all the necessary steps of strapping in a child then forgetting about the child. But it happened. A child is dead, so needlessly.
I have no connection to the family that lost this child, and I do not even remember the name of the father now, but for some reason this terrible event has lingered in my mind since I read about it yesterday. I cannot imagine the agony that baby went through and I do not want to imagine it. Now that child is in the arms of the Good Shepherd and will never suffer again. But someone else is in agony now, and the care of the Good Shepherd may be unfelt by him at this time.
Yes, I am talking about the child's father. He may face criminal charges, may be convicted on those charges, and could even spend a year or more in prison. I have a feeling that even if this man spent fifty years in prison, he would still never get over causing this child's death. Even if he serves only one year in jail and is freed, this man will never be free of the burden that he failed to protect his child. I have to say that I will never understand how a father forgets his child in a car...but I feel sympathy for this man as well.
What! You must be crazy, Mr. Meeks!!
Well, like I said, a few years ago, or maybe even just a few months ago, I would have called for this man's head. Today, not so much. I know that if I choose to judge someone, then the Good Shepherd will judge me with THAT SAME MEASURE (Matthew 7:1-3, emphasis mine). I cannot fathom how this man left his baby in a car, but I can feel to some extent what he is going through now, having lost an infant son myself. No, I did not cause the death of my little angel, but I was still so indescribably heart-broken, sad, angry, and angry at God, above all. So sad for my lovely bride, and so sad for all the plans we had made in our minds concerning this child.
This is where I can sympathize, in a way, with this man and his family. He will have to live with the results of his poor judgment and negligence for the rest of his life. And, he will have to live with the knowledge that he caused this indescribable level of suffering and pain for his family. There is a great probability that some of his loved ones will shun and revile him. Perhaps his wife will never forgive him. Perhaps some of his friends and relatives may never forgive him. Living with himself after causing his son's death will worse than any amount of time in prison...because even if he never spends a day in confinement, he can never escape from his mental and emotional prison.
I will go out on a risky limb here myself and say that I am praying for this young man, that he lives over this and is able to someday forgive himself, with the help of God. And I also pray that young parents across the nation will remember to watch carefully for their children, and to protect them as fathers and mothers should do.
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