I hope as this blog is posted, it becomes irrelevant. I pray in the time this is written, she is found. I can’t imagine…
I can’t imagine what it would be like to have your 84 year old mother missing, to have no idea where she is, to believe she was kidnapped, to not know if she’s alive and well or even ok for that matter…
I can’t imagine the grief, the uncertainty and so much more…
What I appreciate amidst the heartache is the collective, national sadness. What an awful thing to not know where Nancy Guthrie is.
Nancy is the mother of “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
She was reported missing on February 1st. The FBI and local authorities are investigating thousands of tips as we speak. As of this writing, authorities were searching for a male suspect seen on surveillance video, described as 5’9” to 5’10” with an average build, wearing a dark backpack.
Nancy has long been known to her friends and family for her resilience and faith.
Interestingly, there is another prominent Nancy Guthrie also known for her faith, who is a well-known author, teacher and encourager, but is not the daughter of a well-liked celebrity.
While again, knowing they are not the same, I am struck by some of the author Guthrie’s words and how relevant they are today…
“Trusting God when the miracle does not come, when the urgent prayer gets no answer, when there is only darkness—this is the kind of faith God values perhaps most of all. This is the kind of faith that can be developed and displayed only in the midst of difficult circumstances. This is the kind of faith that cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken.”
“Lord, sometimes the possibility of coming catastrophe can make our family terribly afraid. We’re tempted to ask you only to protect us from difficulty, but what we really want is to be a family who lives by faith in the midst of the worst of circumstances.”
“But here’s what grieving people wish others would understand: grief is incredibly, relentlessly lonely. It really makes a huge difference to be reminded that we are not forgotten, that our loss is on the radar of people around us.”
“Peace is a gift of God, but we prepare ourselves to receive this gift as we pray about everything, cultivate gratitude, and refuse to surrender to worry. You can emerge from your days of sorrow with a heart that has been softened to the Spirit of God—what a beautiful and profitable experience that will be! Or you can allow your heart to be hardened by bitterness and resentment toward God, and rejection of his peace and grace—what a dark place that will take you to . . . a place far away from the loving embrace of God… Heart Mender, take this broken heart of mine and make it soft and sensitive to your Spirit. I want to stay close to you and soft toward you.”
Thinking of both Nancy’s now… trying to be hopeful… God be with us all.
Soberly…
AR