What If That Was Me?

          As I read Peace Like A River I continue to place myself in each situation. When I place myself as a father like Jeremiah, or even a mother, brother, or sister I recognize that I would have a very hard time dealing with a child or sibling of mine plotting and killing two boys and then escaping out of jail. I believe that it would be very difficult to hope for the best. The amazing thing in the book is that the Land family is standing behind Davy in the choices he is making and even following after him to be together once more. I sometimes wonder how Jeremiah feels when he sits at night trying to fall asleep. Does he wonder if he has failed as a father? I feel that as a parent, having your child locked away can be very hard to deal with and I would even start to blame myself. As a sibling I would wonder if I would follow in his footsteps. I believe that being a part of that family would be difficult. The Land family is faced with poverty, living in a single parent home, bullied by people in the town, and now living on the road trying to stay dry, warm, and fed. In our culture today I feel like everyone sees themselves as individual, individuals each within a family that do things that benefit and only help themselves. We see that in this book the Land family does exactly the opposite of our culture, They stick together as a family even if it endangers the whole. I hope to one day do the right things for my family even in great trials.