I'm sorry, Adam

One particular news story has me in knots. Well, MANY news stories have me in knots, but this one has me mourning.

It is the story of Adam Herrman, an 11 year old boy who walked away from his home in Kansas a decade ago and no one ever reported him missing.

Be sure to click here and read for yourself, but essentially this young boy was adopted when he was two years old and frequently ran away as he grew. One day he was punished with a belt, and he left the trailer park upset. The parents claim that, when he didn’t return, they were afraid of getting in trouble for the spanking, so they never reported Adam missing. They were quoted as saying that they looked around the park for two days.

An undisclosed person contacted police about Adam this week, and the search has begun…ten years later.

The facts grieve me for so many reasons. I look at my soon-to-be 11 year-old boy (JJ’s birthday is next week) and I cannot imagine not looking for him. As a matter of fact, I would turn the world upside and shake it if I had to. I tell my kids, to the point where I drive them nuts, that I will always love them no matter what. I have cited examples like, “even if you get too cool for me” or “if you bring home a report card littered with ‘F’s” or my husband’s favorite, “if you call in the middle of the night in need of bail money for an international felony…” No matter what.

I am also troubled by the adoptive parents’ protection of SELF over the welfare of the child. Repercussions for spanking Adam seem small compared to having no idea what happened to him for 10 years. Allowing a young boy to fend for himself in order to preserve your own well-being seems incredulous to me. I am not standing in judgment, but I am having difficulty getting my arms around how this happened. I am in shock.

I have said before on the blog that our perceptions of our fathers have so much to do with how we feel (or don’t feel) about God. Poor Adam. I’m not sure if he’ll ever be found, but if I was fortunate enough to cross his path one day, I would say:

“It doesn’t matter how far you’ve run or what 11 year old crimes you’ve committed or what you think is your fault, God keeps looking. God searches and pursues far longer than 2 days. He always leaves the porch light on and never gives away your room or locks the front door.

And God gave up everything – His glory, His reputation, His life – to collect me and you. No self-preservation on His part, just love no matter what.”