Like A Thief in The Night

I'm writing at my son's house this morning. I had planned to go home after I fed both dogs, but got on my laptop first. As usual, I checked out Facebook, then checked out a local webpage that posts what the police and fire departments are up to. What I read really shook me up. An 88 year old neighbor came home to find two men burglarizing his house last night. The burglars fled into the woods.

I don't scare easily, but that scared me.  I live less that 1/2 mile from his mobile home park. Now, I have to go home to my empty, secluded house wondering if those bad-guys burglarized any other homes on my road. I really don't think they did, but the thought entered my mind.

This isn't the first time I have thought about someone entering my house without an invitation. Thankfully, I have four different rooms that have doors that go outside. I could easily escape if I didn't first take time to find my shoes and my cell phone. I could run and hide in the trees bordering my yard. I could hide under the weeping tree with the long hanging branches. I could do all sorts of things to escape possible bodily harm. Then I wonder when or if fear kicked in would I freeze, fight, or really flee.

As you can tell, I have thought about what I would do if that situation ever arose. Then I take a deep breath and say, "Lord, you are in control. You will not give me anything I cannot handle." I call it faith, but others would called my thinking stupidity. Call it what you may, but that is how the Lord guides my thinking--think about solutions, then remember scripture. This morning he brought this scripture to mind:

Matthew 24:42-44New International Version (NIV)42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

This made me think, "What a celebration there will be for those who are anticipating and ready for Christ's return. We will be both awestruck and rejoicing." Then I had to ask myself, "But the rest, will they, like Adam, attempt to hide from the surprise visitor? Will they climb behind rocks, under trees, or anywhere they can, all the while hoping their attempts to get away are not futile?" Just wondering.

Heading home to check out my house,
Jan