Some time ago, Young Braydon accompanied his mother on a trip to Walmart, the largest food retailer in the United States.
It didn’t take long for Braydon’s mother to start worrying about his whereabouts. After a brief period of anxious searching, she found him…
Her first reaction was to reprimand him for abandoning her, but as she witnessed him praying in front of a sign, curiosity overcame her frustration, and she shifted her gaze to the wall.
Losing a child, even momentarily, is every parent’s worst nightmare, and it happens more frequently than we might think, especially in bustling places like shopping malls and supermarkets.
Braydon’s mother, like any parent, needed to exit Walmart swiftly. She shared with Faith Tap: “I had to hurry into Walmart. I walked around to be sure my son was right next to me”.
To her surprise, Braydon had come up with a clever way to slip away from his mother’s watchful eye.
When she finally laid eyes on him, Braydon was squatting down in front of a sign, engaged in prayer. Perplexed, she approached him, demanding an explanation. As she neared the board, she began to comprehend her son’s actions.
In bold letters, the sign declared: “Every second counts”, accompanied by images of missing children. Braydon, moved by the plight of these missing kids, had chosen to pray for their safety.
The poignant photo and its accompanying story quickly circulated across the internet. A Facebook page dedicated to finding missing adolescent Aubrey Jayce Carroll (missing since 2016) came across Braydon’s tale and expressed gratitude.
While unaware of Braydon’s identity, a relative of Aubrey Carroll wrote: “Although I am not sure who this little boy is, I would like to thank you for offering prayers for those children. My cousin Aubrey Carroll is one of the children over there. I can’t deny that this has moved me. I want to formally thank this kid if I knew where or who he was”.
Since its posting, the photo of Braydon kneeling before the sign on Facebook has been shared over 115,000 times.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that 800,000 American children and teenagers go missing every year, an astonishing figure.
As one Facebook commentator aptly put it: “Whether or not you believe in God actually doesn’t matter”. This young person was extending a helping hand in Walmart, doing what he could to raise awareness. If more people followed his example, the world would undoubtedly be a better place.
Kudos to you, mom! You’re laying a solid foundation here.
May his soul be blessed, acknowledging the central role faith played in his understanding.