22 Forever

While I was drinking coffee and reading from a Gideon Bible at a hotel in Atlanta this morning, my phone rang with a recorded message. It was an update on Devin Hawkins, a passenger in the stolen car that led to Josh's death. Periodically, I will get updates for him and Ronnie Pittman, the driver of the stolen car, letting me know they have moved to a new prison. As the victim, I have a right to know. Thankfully, there is little reason for me to think of them unless their names are brought up. I will say at this point I don't feel much compassion for them. They were hell bent on being criminals by the looks of their rap sheets. I don't have much hope that this incident has changed them. I don't hate them, I think of them as lost in the darkness of sin. It comes to me as I am writing this, I have never prayed for them. I have never thought to pray for them. Perhaps that says more about my feelings than I am choosing to believe. Monday will be July 23, 2019. Two years since Josh was killed. It feels like so long ago. He has friends getting married and moving on with life and he is forever trapped at 22. Frozen in time, while the rest of us get older and change. He will always be that peculiar spirit that lived life his way. Josh, you are so loved and so missed. I am thankful for the time you spent here bringing laughter and joy to everyone you knew.

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