So, did you know that a person must be missing for more than 24 hours before they can be reported to law enforcement as missing, or a person that has disappeared or been missing for 7 years can be declared legally dead?
In 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted law enforcement and families with more than 29,000 cases of missing children with a recovery rate of 96.3 percent according to abcnews.go.com.
Currently, there are almost 82,000 Americans that served in the military that are still missing, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency which spans from World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War and conflicts since 1991, with one service member being recently identified and returned to their family on 23 December 2020.
Not only do people in this day and age get lost or forgotten, but it was recorded that at the age of 12, Jesus' parents traveled for a day prior to them realizing that they had left him behind. They searched for him for 3 days before he was found. (Luke 2:41-46) Why would anyone want to hear about depressing news such as people being lost or forgotten? First, I wanted to give you statistical and historical facts that show, being forgotten or lost is something that occurs more often than one might think and that it can happen to anyone. Second, is to show you, that just because someone might be forgotten or left behind doesn't mean that they will not be sought after, as evident in the recovery rate by law enforcement and the perseverance by our service members who volunteer to search and recover remains of our missing veterans.
Those are all examples of the physical presence being removed but what about the emotional detachment individuals experience within relationships? What are some things that might happen in a relationship that one person might have a feeling of being lost or forgotten? Could it be that one person is spending too much time with your job, extracurricular activities keeping you away from home longer and longer, other friends occupying the time that you should be spending with your mate, or could it be the dreaded "B" word (busy)? Sometimes we allow ourselves to get too wrapped up in ourselves, problems, emotions and outside influences to even notice that we might have lost someone alone the way. The greatest tragedy of losing someone is not the fact that they were lost but the fact that you didn't even know, they were lost. The feeling of being unsafe, unimportant, unwanted, abandoned, or rejected leads to mental and emotional issues that result in a person having a lack of trust in others, fear, anger, infidelity, and divorce. So how do you correct this "eyes wide shut" moment when you have that missing person right in front of you? Communication must be established to find out what both of you expect out of the relationship. Each person must accept ownership of their feelings and learn to self validate their actions by examining themselves to see if they are the one at fault due to a bad attitude or behavior that has forced the other person away. Lastly, both participants must be forthright and authentic in their actions towards one another. #SPEAK2MYHEART
