The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Last Wednesday night Chuck and I were on our computers quite late – 10:30pm. Let me give you a bit of background on that little tidbit of information…if we are on the computer in the evening (say 9pm) that means it is 11am (that same day) in Arizona. So we are altering our computer time by checking it in the morning (which would be the previous evening for you all) and in the evening because you are just getting onto your computers and responding to our emails. Sure sounds confusing and believe me I still get confused!
Now, back to the issue…we were on our computers and the dog suddenly started barking – a lot. We have been warned several times about thugs, thieves, robbers etc. either entering compounds or walking around the market I’ve been told to keep my phone in my purse not on my hip (where someone could easily take it). This advice is given with much love and concern for our welfare and most of the time it is geared towards when we visit Nairobi…but it’s an underlying thought here in Tala too.
With that thought process being “encouraged” once the dog started barking I began thinking all sorts of things…who’s coming onto the compound but my thoughts didn’t go to “are they going to break in” because all the windows are barred and the doors are heavy metal, not an easy task to get into our home, but instead my thoughts go to “are they going to try burning us out”. That is something that happens here in Kenya and happend frequently during the clashes, people were locked inside their own homes and burned. It was talked about with such frequency during our last trip in 2008 that I asked Chuck how he would get us out of our home if that happened…through the roof was his answer!
As the dog barked and my thoughts became more anxious and my heart beat quickened I started thinking of an incident in the States where a young kid was jumping fences (at around 1am) to escape from the police and the police entered our backyard with flashlights burning. At that time I was concerned but I knew that if I called 911 someone would respond almost instantly. But here there is no 911 and if you do get the police we’ve been told that sometimes they will ask for shilling for fuel so they can come out! I didn’t feel safe and thought I would be safer in the US because I could rely on man to guard me.
Then the Lord spoke to my heart…why are you relying on man to protect you instead of me? I have you here for a reason and do you think part of that reason may be to rely on me not only for your protection but for EVERYTHING?
He gave me peace at a time I needed peace, calm replaced anxiety and my heart beat went back to normal. Thank you Father for another life lesson…the Lord is my light and salvation, my stronghold…whom shall I be afraid or fear?