Home Invasions

I was watching on ABC's Good Morning America this morning about some very scary home invasions around the country where the intruders were shot and killed.

It brought back some very unpleasant memories of the 2008 home invasion at my moms house that my son was a victim of.

Jonathan was 14 at the time and in 8th grade.

A week earlier he had broken his arm at school. It was a serious break and needed 2 surgeries just to get it reset. At the same time, I had come down with a mystery illness that had sent me to the ER  and was recovering at home so Jonathan was at my mom's house being cared for by her while I also healed.

My mom had to go to work for a few hours that day. She worked at the same church I did. It is only about a 10 minute drive. My mom lives on 13 very secluded acres and you don't even see her house from the road. Jonathan was in a bedroom on the computer when he saw a car pull into the driveway and two men step out. 

This alarmed him and he called my mom to see if she was expecting any workers. She said "NO" and told Jonathan to call 911. My mom had a terrible feeling in her heart and immediately left church to rush home to see who was in her driveway. 

Jonathan fumbled trying to call 911 and accidentally called Papa Bud. Papa Bud loved talking on the phone so he was asking Jonathan how was his arm, Jonathan was trying to politely hang up on Papa to call 911 without wanting to scare Papa. 

While this was going on, one of the men had come to the back porch and broke the glass door. He was now inside my moms house. Jonathan heard the glass and got into a closet. He immediately began praying to God for protection. The man had a machete knife and apparently was on a walkie talkie with the other man who was waiting outside in the get away car. 

My mom called my brother in law who lived about 2 miles away for help and Tom drove as fast as he could to get to my moms. Inside the house the man was going thru the rooms when Jonathan heard him say to the man outside via the walkie talkies that he was going to kill my moms dog who was a small dog but was barking in the living room. Jonathan made the brave decision to come out of the closet and as he did he met the man in the hallway

Jonathan was in his pajama bottoms and his arm was in a sling. He had just turned 14 two months before this. But in our minds, God had a guardian angel behind Jonathan. And this burglar saw something other than a small frightened child. Whatever he saw scared the burglar.  I have chills coming over me as I type this because this burglar dropped the knife and RAN as fast as he could out of the house when he saw Jonathan. The men sped away just as my brother in law and mom were pulling into the driveway. They were never caught but a few months later a crime ring was busted in a nearby county and Jonathan was positive it was the same men.

These men could have killed my son. He was alone, he was a defenseless child, he was in a sling and my moms house is so far from any other homes no one would have heard him scream. He was unarmed and the burglar had a machete knife.

But God, we are positive, protected him that day. Jonathan said he was not scared when he left the closet. He had prayed and felt a peace that only comes to you when you are a believer and you trust beyond what words can ever describe.

It was a scary incident but Jonathan is ok. Whenever I hear about home invasions, especially the sad ones where people are killed or hurt by the intruders my heart always will skip a beat and then I immediately thank God for protecting my baby that terrible day in May 2008. 


Jonathan will be graduating high school in 2 months, He has been accepted into Marshall University Pre-Med and he just passed with flying colors the US Military entrance ASVAB test with a score of 85 and may also join the Air Force. I am one proud mommy.

The only thing this burglar accomplished was he made our family even stronger believers in God and we are certain that God has a greater purpose for Jonathan's life.