Little Girl Lost

Not long ago around 9 in the evening, a young girl stopped by our house. She looked to be 15 or so. She was wearing pajamas and walking barefoot. She asked to use a phone and we let her. She tried a couple numbers and then handed back the phone. As she walked away the phone rang and it was someone she was trying to reach. So, she talked for a few minutes, handed back the phone and turned to walk away. My husband asked her if everything was all right, and she said, "yeah, fine". Then she took off running down the street.
   Around 10:30pm we got a call from her sister asking if she was here. We told her what we knew and she informed us that she had had a fight with her dad and ran away. We started to pray for her and felt burdened for her. Around midnight her family was still out looking for her and came through our street. Andrew was still in the garage and saw them drive slowly down the street, so he stepped out and talked with them.
   What he found out, scared us to the core. This young girl was trying to meet up with a man she'd met on the internet. A much older man who I'm sure did not truly want to help her.
   We found out the next day that she returned home in the middle of the night and was safe. Praise God!  But in the midst of this situation we thanked our God above that we knew where our daughters were in the middle of the night. I had to give them all big hugs in the morning. Not only that, but we realized the importance of the relationship between father and daughter.
   A father needs to love his daughter so much and show it to her, so that she won't have any reason to turn to an outside source to fill that need. And there is an innate need in a little girl to be doted on and loved and cherished by her father. That's not to say discipline and rules are set aside, but that there is a balance. That need doesn't disappear with age. In fact I think it grows stronger in the teenage years when life is confusing at best.
   In light of it all, give your daughters a big hug, and love them with all you've got. It will be what keeps them from running and leaving you wondering if your little girl is lost.