import json


def parse_config(config_file=None):
    """
    Read a set of JSON formatted configs and store as dictionary

    :param config_file: location of file with JSON formatted config
    :return: dictionary with messages/statuses
    """
    config = {}
    if not config_file:
        return config
    buf = open(config_file).read()
    config = json.loads(buf)
    return config