8 years

"A young woman has told police she escaped a kidnapper after being held for eight years in a sealed garage, apparently resolving a missing child case that shook Austria." ... more

Wow. 8 years is a long time. I can't imagine being locked up for eight long years.

She was taken in 1998. I was 12 years old then. It was probably nighttime in my part of the world when it happened. I was probably asleep.

And then what happened? I graduated from elementary. I went to high school. I made friends. and some enemies. I travelled. I played sports. I learned a lot of things. I finished high school. I went to college. I contemplated God. I planned my life. I conquered my fear. I loved. I hated. I changed. I grew up. I lived.

But not her. All that time she was just in that room. Nowhere to go, nothing to do. No one to be with. Nothing. She was just there. Static and unchanging. Almost as if she didn't exist.


So, what's happening now?

Fellowship

Fun.
Food.
Friendship.
These are things everyone enjoys. Tonight i experienced something i've sorely missed in my life -- fellowship.

Tonight was a good night. I laughed with people, i clapped with people. I played party games for the first time in years. I acted in a skit that was prepared in less than a minute. I didn't care if i looked silly. I talked with a teacher who shared with me her spiritual revelation. I shared some of mine. I prayed with all my heart. I stood in a circle holding hands. I sang with my eyes closed.

All these things i never saw myself doing. Yet there i was, enjoying myself in the company of good people. My fellows. My friends.



~~
We asked for the Spirit, and it came down upon us. It entered our hearts and made us glow, and we were as stars.