: O

I'm in shock right now.

My mom just told me what happened to my cousin. If you read this blog, please pray for her.

Basically, my cousin got involved with this guy she met online. He's 25 and she's 21. She met up with him in December, met her parents and all that, but the parents weren't so pleased because apparently he has a police record. As does his father. My cousin has lived in a strict family environment pretty much her whole life and also has issues with abandonment because she was adopted and doesn't understand why her birth mother didn't want her. I don't blame her because my aunt is a very cold hearted woman. Getting "rejected" by your birth mother only to have your adopted one be less than kind is not ideal.

Anyway, my cousin ran away with this guy last night. They went to Arizona. She has no money. She has no cell phone. She has no car. Because my aunt and uncle took them away because she wouldn't stop talking to this guy. The only communication she's had with the family since she left last night is a couple of text messages to her younger brother saying that she loves them and will visit them "someday."

The part that saddens me is that she has no idea how in over her head she is. She is so very much at risk for a domestic violence kind of situation. I've watched her spend so much of her life in a silent desperation for love. Because of her family situation, she doesn't experience it much. How I wish I could turn back time and love her so much more than I did. She has a sister and three brothers. The three oldest siblings are all married with kids. The sister and one sister-in-law spend a lot of time together and I know that they do everything they can to show my cousin that she is loved. How I wish that she would realize that her value and worth does not come from this guy. Her value is in God as his creation. NO MATTER WHAT. Who cares about the bad parents, she is loved by God. Oh, it hurts. I know it hurts because of my own father and the bad decisions he has made. My heart aches for her. She has so much beauty and so much potential and she left it all behind for a guy.

Right now, the only thing to do is pray. Please pray for her. My hope is that she will return soon, realizing the mistake of running away with a guy. I wish she would have run away to a brother or sister's house instead. That would have been better. They would have welcomed her and taken care of her and helped her find her independence without relying on a false love. She needed to get away from the cold hearted house she lived in, but she could destroy herself in this situation.