For The Children
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
Lilianna Goodman was a 14-month-old baby girl who died on March 13, 2009, two days after being beaten for over an hour with a belt by her mother's 18-year-old boyfriend. Her crime? Being disrespectful and not eating.[[In-content Ad]]This story broke my heart in a new way. I have grieved over Lilianna, though I did not know her, for days. Maybe her story touched my heart especially because my own triplets are 14-months-old. I know well the high-chair food fights. The thrown food. The tantrums when the juice is gone from the sippy cup. The indignant cries when you just can't shovel the food in fast enough.
I imagine a 14-month-old's frustration at not being able to tell me they don't like a food, or that they're not hungry right now. So, they cry, push the spoon away, and make enormous messes.
I know how small their little bodies are, and can't imagine enough surface area to strike a body that small with a belt for any length of time - let alone over an hour.
I have wept for Lilianna, and have been in a "funk" for days over her story. And, I have prayed. What can I do? My career in the non-profit world for the last 12 years helps me to know that there are already wonderful organizations that wish to help people with anger management, parenting, stress management, abuse and neglect prevention.
Do we need more programs? More legislation?
I have come to the conclusion that what we need is a mighty move of prayer and fasting for children and families - beginning in our own community.
So, I am taking every opportunity to "walk and pray" for all the Lilianna's in our own community. As I walk different streets and neighborhoods in this community, I will be praying for the children who live in the houses I pass by. I will be praying the same prayers for them that I do every day for my own children. That they will be loved, cherished, provided for and kept safe by all who are entrusted with their care. That they will grow up in the security that their parents love them, and each other. That their individual gifts will be recognized and celebrated. That they will know Jesus, and grow to love and serve Him.
I will be praying for their parents - that they will know Christ. That they will have all the resources they need to be good parents: a strong faith, a network of friends and family to support them, the financial means to provide for their families, and freedom from addictions.
I will be praying for their neighbors - that they will have compassion for the children near them, and boldness to report abuse.
I will be praying for our law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges - that they will have the resources they need to help prevent, detect and prosecute crimes against children. That they will have wisdom to use their authority for the benefit of the innocent.
Lilianna's dark days were spent in Indianapolis, but there are children like Lilianna in our own community. Won't you join me in "walking and praying" for them?
Stephanie Overbey
Silver Lake, via e-mail
Lilianna Goodman was a 14-month-old baby girl who died on March 13, 2009, two days after being beaten for over an hour with a belt by her mother's 18-year-old boyfriend. Her crime? Being disrespectful and not eating.[[In-content Ad]]This story broke my heart in a new way. I have grieved over Lilianna, though I did not know her, for days. Maybe her story touched my heart especially because my own triplets are 14-months-old. I know well the high-chair food fights. The thrown food. The tantrums when the juice is gone from the sippy cup. The indignant cries when you just can't shovel the food in fast enough.
I imagine a 14-month-old's frustration at not being able to tell me they don't like a food, or that they're not hungry right now. So, they cry, push the spoon away, and make enormous messes.
I know how small their little bodies are, and can't imagine enough surface area to strike a body that small with a belt for any length of time - let alone over an hour.
I have wept for Lilianna, and have been in a "funk" for days over her story. And, I have prayed. What can I do? My career in the non-profit world for the last 12 years helps me to know that there are already wonderful organizations that wish to help people with anger management, parenting, stress management, abuse and neglect prevention.
Do we need more programs? More legislation?
I have come to the conclusion that what we need is a mighty move of prayer and fasting for children and families - beginning in our own community.
So, I am taking every opportunity to "walk and pray" for all the Lilianna's in our own community. As I walk different streets and neighborhoods in this community, I will be praying for the children who live in the houses I pass by. I will be praying the same prayers for them that I do every day for my own children. That they will be loved, cherished, provided for and kept safe by all who are entrusted with their care. That they will grow up in the security that their parents love them, and each other. That their individual gifts will be recognized and celebrated. That they will know Jesus, and grow to love and serve Him.
I will be praying for their parents - that they will know Christ. That they will have all the resources they need to be good parents: a strong faith, a network of friends and family to support them, the financial means to provide for their families, and freedom from addictions.
I will be praying for their neighbors - that they will have compassion for the children near them, and boldness to report abuse.
I will be praying for our law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges - that they will have the resources they need to help prevent, detect and prosecute crimes against children. That they will have wisdom to use their authority for the benefit of the innocent.
Lilianna's dark days were spent in Indianapolis, but there are children like Lilianna in our own community. Won't you join me in "walking and praying" for them?
Stephanie Overbey
Silver Lake, via e-mail
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