Hi everyone-

I hope you gotten all your shopping done and are able to sit back and relax this evening. I'll be out on my lat minute runs this afternoon. A pain but i think I work best under pressure.

I would like to finish the story of Ezekiel today. On this image I didn't do a lot of post processing. I didn't think that it would help the story. Because today the story is not about the picture or anything I might have done to it.

It's about Ezekiel and his children.

I have mentioned before that Ezekiel is aware of the wrongs of his past. He knew that he must pay a price to society for those wrongs. I don't think he was prepared for the price he would pay with his wife and children.

I don't know the whole story. So it is difficult for me to comment on why his wife did what she did. I can imagine though that someone with good in their heart and love for their family could not just walk away, turning their children over to strangers.

I am trying not to be judgemental but that seems a bit extreme for me.

So Ezekiel returns to his home finding his children gone, his wife gone and very little information on what has happened. Through a friend he is able to piece together the events that have taken place.

His wife is in another state with a man she met recently and his children are in custody of protective services and spread out through out the area.

He has no job and explains that it is difficult for him to get a job that will support his family, if he is able to get them back.

In today's image Ezekiel holds up a picture of most of his kids. He keeps it in his pocket with about 30 other images of his family. These are his only possessions. He cried when he showed them to me. He cried because he was so proud, he cried because he knew that he has lost everything he has loved.

He does not know what he will do next. He does not drink, he does not do drug. He hopes to find a job and is going to continue to try and see his kids and hopefully get them back.

As I have said I'm not asking you to feel guilty or sorry and I don't think Ezekiel was asking that of me either. He was upfront with his role in the events that have shaped his life. I just wanted to pass on his story because for some reason he chose me to tell it to.

I have been around shady characters plenty enough in my life to know the deal. This guy wasn't that. He asked of nothing from me but for my time. He wanted to share his story and his life with me.

Craig Tanner a lot about these chance encounters and I tend to agree with his way of looking at them. IT happens for a reason. Some how we are all interconnected. There have been studies done and articles published all things that Craig can talk more intelligently about that I. But the main point is that Ezekiel and I spoke for some reason that day.

Maybe he was going to do something he felt e shouldn't and the time spent with me was able to prevent it. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to as I imagine he feels very alone right now. Maybe his story was something that I needed to hear or possibly it was something that I needed to hear so that I could pass it along to others.

I'll never know. But I do know that it touched me and I in someway felt connected to Ezekiel. I hope that he is able to get back on his feet and get his life in order and be with his children. That is the one thing he wants most and it is my Christmas wish for him for that to happen.

I will keep him in my thoughts, and I hope you do as well.

Thanks for reading this story. I hope you have a pleasant and joyful Christmas Eve with whomever you will be spending it!

Have a great day!