Judgment Call

In that lovely region I call "Up North," I don't even know if it reached zero degrees today. It didn't matter.

Arctic temperatures have nothing on the warmth the love of a family can bring to a loved one in need. Today that loved one was my nephew Tony – and his mom (my twin) and family.

About 8 months ago, Tony made a mistake. Today a judge had to decide how he should pay for it. As hubby and I drove north, I just kept praying that God would help us accept what we cannot control and have faith the judge's sentence will be the best for our Tony.

I think it will be.

The judge and lawyers for both sides remarked that his case is unusual – from the fact that his armed robbery (with an unloaded gun) was an uncharacteristic action of the young Iraq vet to the recent volume of letters to the court asking that above all, the suffering alcoholic could get help.

As a crowd of about 20 of us – including every sibling and spouse except those in Texas –  listened, the judge expressed concern about Tony's future and what must be done to ensure it's a positive one. In the end he decided that Tony will serve prison time, but also participate in a 6-month in-prison treatment program. Once that is done, (which could be less than 2 years from now) he can be done with time behind bars but then must seek mental health help for his post-traumatic stress disorder issues – all while under several years of extended supervision.

Now it's time to pray for him, the prison program operators and the VA, who hopefully can step in with the PTSD challenges. Anyone who has seen American Sniper can understand how concerning that problem is for all of us who love this young man.

At least we all got to "visit" with him after the hearing. But that was still with a thick pane of glass between us and talking through a phone. He saw us all there, though, and appreciated it. It just would have been nice if at least my sister and her family could have hugged him goodbye. But sticking with rules, no physical contact allowed.

Can you imagine going 8 months without hugging your baby and now having to wait maybe 2 years, maybe less, maybe longer? My heart breaks for my twin and my nephew.

Never underestimate the value of a hug. And please don't take it for granted. No one could have predicted what happened last June. None of us can predict what will happen tomorrow either, for any of us.

Treasure today and all its blessings.