Today, Ray Etheridge was laid to rest.  I never knew this young man, but the reports from his family and friends make me wish he had been a friend to my children.  It seems that he was a light in the lives of everyone who knew him, and our world needs more young men like him.

But, sadly, our world got a little darker last week when he was found dying in a Louisville park.  He had been stabbed multiple times, and died later at the hospital.  A 21 year old…. person has been arrested and charged with his murder, and it seems that this isn’t the first time he’s been in trouble with the law.  What led to the death of this child is unknown at the moment, but I hope that justice is done and that his family is comforted.

This should happen to no-one, especially to a young man who was just beginning his journey into manhood.  The Etheridge family is homeless, so his life was probably not going to be easy.  But it is apparent to anyone who listens to his parents and his little brother that they are a close family, and he would not have grown up in the same feral way that I see many young boys do, even in the best of conditions.

The world is not evenly distributed between lions and lambs, because there are jackals mixed in with them.  In this case, a young boy was taken from his family by a jackal in human form, and I fear that there are more and more predators like this every day.  Once again, I am reminded that we have to see the world as it is, not as we wish it would be.  A twelve year old boy should be able to walk our streets and parks in safety, but that just isn’t how the world works.

Tonight, like always, I am going to check that my kids are tucked in, but I’m also going to stop and thank whoever’s listening that they are safe, and warm, and still with me.  It’s something I take for granted, but it’s really something that can be ripped away.