George Strait sings "Today My World Slipped Away." In it, he sings "I went down to the church and told God how much it hurt." January 15, 2011, a big part of my world slipped away, I've told God how much it hurts many times. I began to recount some of the specific incidents of that day over the last few weeks. We told James we'd see him at lunch as he was getting money for shotgun shells and leaving that morning. Everyone knows the rest of the story, as we began a 17 day search for James. So many things stand out from those days. Lt Stryde Jones from Lowndes County was assigned as the lead detective for the case, and he screened calls that came in beginning that first day. Early that eveing, CNN called. Someone had called and told them James was missing. A representative from the Nancy Grace Show called. They wanted to do a piece on James as part of their 50 missing people in 50 days. I thanked them for their call and interest but replied, "we'd be happy to share the story, but I don't think this is the kind of story you're looking for. We're pretty sure we know where James is."
Looking back on that statement a year later, we knew that wherever he was God had him. When they found him on the 31st, we were certain we knew where he was, and that God indeed had him.
We were blessed to be able to gather with friends today and remember James. As we gathered and people shared, it was evident we all knew where James was, safe at home with God, and forever in our hearts and minds.