Not our town.

Not our school.

Not our neighborhood.

Not our family.

I would be lying if I didn’t foolishly believe all of these same things.  If somehow tragedy would skip over us because it’s only something you read about…not something that would actually happen.

But here we are.

Searching. Praying.

Armchair detectives are in full force offering their criticism and theories all over social media. They want to point fingers and cast stones….but they probably never thought to leave their warm home to help search. It’s nauseating.

I feel guilty when I’m laughing with my kids…giving them hugs or tucking them into bed. Because just a short drive away, a family is not sleeping and hurting in an unimaginable way.

It seems unfair that life for the rest of us has moved on. School, art shows, soccer practices, church, dinner time, playing in the snow…we all have continued on with our daily routines.

It seems unfair that the number of news stories is dwindling down…the amount of posts on social media are becoming few and far between…the missing posters have become tattered and worn from this unpredictable weather.

Many of us don’t know Jake personally.

But he’s one of us.

He’s our son. He’s our brother. He’s our grandson. He’s our nephew. He’s our friend. He’s our neighbor.

He needs us to not give up.

Keep praying.

Leave your porch light on.

Let’s light his way home.