I WILL NOT LIVE IN FEAR

Early this morning, my husband and I were awakened by persistent and loud pounding on our kitchen door, which is our main entrance from our driveway. This was at about 2 am.  Our dogs began barking, and we were shocked out of sleep by the whole thing.

My husband did what I knew he would do...he grabbed his shotgun out of his gun cabinet, made me stay behind him, and made his way to the door.  Our dogs stayed behind me. Safe, huh?

The knocking had stopped, and we both saw a policeman walking towards a big police SUV that was parked sideways on our street, right at the entrance to the side street. Our driveway is on that side street. So hubs went outside, and approached the policeman. They talked for several moments and then both came to our porch, where the policeman explained to me what had happened.

Our neighborhood has been kind of under siege the past few months.  We have lived here for nearly 8 years and have had no problems of any kind. We love our house, our neighbors, our location. We are very happy here.  Oh, sure there has been the occasional break in, or cars having change stolen, but none of it on a regular basis.  But for the past 5 to 6 months, the instance of crime or criminal intent has been skyrocketing.  We have a neighborhood Facebook Page, where we learn of these things, and share our stories. So this morning, I was able to add ours to the mix.

The policeman was very kind, and explained that someone had seen a man looking in and around our cars.  Now, they are parked very close to our entrance, yet our dogs heard nothing. Anyway, the person who witnessed this called the police, and they came right out.  As they pulled around the corner, they saw the man leaving the area of our cars and walking down the driveway. They apprehended him and placed him under arrest.

The officer asked both my husband and I to examine our cars to make sure nothing was missing or damaged. Since we have a habit of never leaving anything of value in our vehicles, we were not overly concerned. Yes, I have a couple of CD's in there, but they are copies, just in case.  And yes, I have a favorite pair of sunglasses in the space behind my seat, but I have more besides.   Nothing was missing, and nothing was damaged.

The officer and my husband then walked around our property, just to make sure there was no attempt at breaking in, or any other damage, which thankfully there was not.

So today, we are giving thanks. It could have been a different story. It may have been a tragic one, or one that I would not be able to tell. My husband and I discussed installing sensor lighting outside our house, which would quickly discourage prowlers.  And a new fence that would conceal our back yard, and make our dogs safer as well.  I told my neighbor/friend, and she is investigating the possibility of our neighborhood buying them in bulk, at a discount. The installation of many sensor lights would certainly be a problem for those with evil intent.

I refuse to be afraid in my own home, in my own neighborhood. We have an alarm, and we use it. Many homes here do, but some of those have still been broken into. One woman and her dog, earlier this week, was targeted by a driver, who appeared to deliberately be trying to hit her. That driver went on to destroy mailboxes and recycling bins all throughout the neighborhood.  So you see, I very easily could choose to be afraid!  But I will not live in fear.

God is my refuge, my protector, my source.  He lives in our home, as well as our hearts, and He gives us the peace that only He can give.  Jesus has promised to deliver us from all harm.  We choose to trust Him, and I will not back down. He will help us take our home and our neighborhood back, and may He be glorified in the process.

I am going to pray for this man, that he will find Jesus, and his life will be filled with good intent rather than evil.  After all, Jesus loves him too.

'I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.' Psalm 4:8 (NIV)

Blessings!