Madison

I met a young girl tonight -- her name is Madison. I would guess she is maybe 5 or 6 years old, and she is as cute as a button! Cuter, actually. . .

This meeting came about during a walk with my favorite golden retriever -- Silver -- and Joce (her owner). Joce hurt her back, so I am having fun walking Silver with Joce. We were walking along short cement winding path into a park, when a little girl came around the bend and walked toward us. We asked her if she would like to pet the dog. So, she did and we told her the dog was named Silver. She said "Silver" with a cute, slight, little lisp. I expected to see a parent come around the bend at any moment while she pet Silver, but none did. Madison walked off in the direction from which we had come, and we continued on. But I had a feeling we should get her and bring her back to the park up ahead of us, where other children were playing. Then a man called out a name -- I thought he said Jessica or something, but Joce heard it correctly. So, we turned around to retrieve Madison. She was nearly out of sight walking down a neighborhood street, but she stopped when we called.

Madison said her father was not at the park, but we managed to convince her to race Silver to the park and then convinced her to take us to her house. She really liked Silver and she was eager to show us where she lived. So we followed Madison through an alley between apartment buildings and as we emerged from the alley, two older women relaxing in the evening heat recognized Madison and told her that her dad had been looking for her. Her mom was walking down the street in the opposite direction, but came back when she was called out to.

As we met up with her mom, my heart sank in my chest. This young mom was sooooo skinny -- I would estimate she was 5'8" and maybe weighed 100 - 110 pounds. Maybe. Her legs were tiny and her skin appeared sunken around her shoulder blades. Her face was gaunt, but pretty nonetheless. Her hair was thin and wispy as hair of the undernourished often appears.

There are three types of people I have seen that resemble Madison's mom -- (1) the very, very ill, (2) the anorexic, and (3) the anorexic with drugs and/or alcohol issues. I wondered which of the three Madison't mom was coping with. We talked and she pet Silver. Everybody loves Silver. The neighborhood right there in this apartment complex appeared a little "rough around the edges" compared to the typical St. Albert streets. I wondered about Madison's everyday experiences there.

Our reading today was Psalms 1-3, and Acts 17

"I lay down and slept.
I woke up in safety,
for the Lord was watching over me."
Psalm 3:5

Tonight I pray for Madison and her mom. I pray that Madison is watched over and protected in all her everyday experiences, including her playing in the park. I pray that the Lord reaches out and grabs Madison's heart. I pray that if anyone remembers the day we brought Madison home, that is seen as the Lord watching over Madison. I pray that their family, if they don't currently attend a church, become aware of a new church going up just a tad south, and check it out! I pray that Madison's mom is okay and able to take care of Madison. Thank you Jesus.