Security

Over the weekend, my hubby and I went for a drive. It was 102 degrees, so we thought sitting in an air conditioned car for awhile would feel good! After we got home, I went out to pick my beans. Darkness was quickly falling over the backyard, but I could see well enough to pick the beans. For some reason, I walked over to the bed adjacent to the beans to take a look at my cabbages. I had noticed earlier that they were getting close to the stage where I could pick them for us to enjoy. My heart skipped a couple beats and sunk as I approached them. I saw cabbage leafs scattered on the ground and on one plant, the cabbage was completely gone, while another was over half gone. There were piles of cabbage leafs on top of each other laying on top of the plant. What could have done this to my cabbages? They looked like they had been ravaged, to say the least. I felt uneasy thinking that someone had been in my back yard. We have a wooden fence that is seven feet tall, so our back yard isn't one you can just walk into. I started to look around, wondering if someone was still back there with me, feeling quite uneasy. Yes, it's 'just cabbage' but someone was in our yard and completely vandalized my cabbages. If I didn't have a fence, I would blame deer, but there's no way a deer could get in the yard. My security was very definitely shaken. I went out to find my hubby who was out front. We talked to the neighbor across the street to see if they had seen anyone but they hadn't been out much after we left for our drive.

Last night, we were unwinding, getting ready for bed, when there was a knock on the door. It was after 10, so it was late for visitors. Our neighbor and her very large dog were standing at the door. She came over to tell us that there had been several break ins along our street the night before, both in cars and garages. Again, my security felt shaken and I felt uneasy and unsafe. We live in a fairly quiet neighborhood, where most of us feel, or should I say felt, pretty safe. We talked with our neighbor about how we really don't even know each other on our block. We all wave and say hi, but we don't know each other. We have no community, no relationships. We talked about how things have changed so much since we were kids because you used to know your neighbors. People used to watch out for each other and help out when needed. Now, people work long hours, come home and many have replaced relationships with others for a relationship with the tv or computer. We talked of organizing a block party so we can get to know one another, because we all need to be watching out for the others, not to mention we could all use some true community in our neighborhood.

My security is shaken. It has been shaken a lot lately, between world and national events, break ins, and our rapidly changing world. I am glad to know that my security is in Christ and that in Him I can find safety. In Him there is hope no matter how crazy this world gets, because He understands and cares for us. We will still go through things that make us feel unsafe because we live in an unsafe world, but the hope that lies in living beyond this world with Christ is true security, and nothing can shake that if we remain strong in Him, in His word, and we TRUST that He will take care of us.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. 2 Samuel 22:2-3