Tribute to Parents Who Sacrifice for Their Kids

So 20/20 recently had a two hour special on the sad story of the Kim family.  This happened in 2006 and I remember feeling very sad back then for James Kim (CNET editor... for those of you not familiar, it is like a gadget news site).  My husband, being the gadget geek that he is, actually brought it to my attention back then.  Since he is also quite the outdoorsy mountaineering guy, he also understands more the dangers of extreme weather in remote mountainous regions and was explaining that to me.  I can only draw from my own experience of attempting to climb Mt Rainier on my honeymoon May 2002.  It was very cold and very difficult!  We never made it to the top because of the bad weather and made the wiser (but less glorious) decision to climb back down after reaching high camp.  Sadly, two very experienced climbers  perished the very night that we would have attempted the summit!  Now that was with winter gear and boots etc... this guy James attempted to look for help I think only wearing a sweatshirt and sneakers?!  


However, reading the story now from the wife and mom's perspective and having 2 young girls myself... I feel the sadness and desperation in a whole new light.  Especially when she mentioned that the 7 month old stopped smiling and had feeble cries... my heart is wrenched and I just want to go hold my girls.  How I take for granted a warm roof over my head... food on the table...


I remember being told that I would not really understand how God our Father loves us as children until I have children of my own.  Truly this agape love that a parent has for a child is strong stuff!  We just celebrated Valentines Day... I suppose the emphasis there is more on eros love.  It probably should be a holiday to celebrate all forms of "love".


So "kudos" to all you moms and dads out there who love your kids and who would sacrifice for them.  Hopefully, we will never be put in the same desperate situation as the Kims but when it boils down to it.. we would probably do whatever it takes for their well-being.


For those of you interested in learning some winter survival skills, I thought this was an interesting link.  You can click on this for a more condensed 5 basic survival skills.