This blog was originally posted on Sarah Howard's blog "Letting Your Feminine Heart Live". Read more at: http://www.somuchhope.com/the-female-heart-alive
Last week, I came home from my usual routine of dropping my husband off at work to find that our house had been robbed.
I first noticed tire tracks in the snow in our driveway. Then I saw the foot prints leading up to the door. Lastly, I saw that our door was open and the frame was splintered.
I quickly turned around and herded my two daughters back into the car and locked it. I facetimed Caleb: "Honey...I think our house has been robbed..." and called the police.
When we were able to enter our house again, we found that pretty much every room had been ransacked: closets thrown open with everything that had been inside lying on the ground; every drawer pulled out and rifled through; bags opened; papers scattered about; jewelry flung over the counter...it was a mess. And it was very disconcerting to see our possessions looked through and thrown all over the place.
As I've processed the violation of an uninvited guest being in our home and going through our things, there's one thing that I keep coming back to. This turn of events could really freak me out. I could start to feel unsafe in our home. I'm a stay-at-home mom who was robbed in the middle of broad daylight, for crying out loud! I could decide we need to move to a safer neighborhood. I could freak out every time I hear an unexpected noise.
And yes, those things are certainly coming into my head. I never knew our house made SO MANY random noises. Now I do. These are the emotions and thoughts of real life - I can't escape them. We're definitely grappling through the brokenness of what happened to us. We're finding out (again) that the pain of living on earth is unavoidable.
But in the middle of those thoughts, that's not the only reality that I can choose to hold onto. At the exact same time of holding on to the reality that a break-in really did happen to us, I'm fighting to know that I can, in my other hand, hold on to the reality that I am a child of God. I belong to Him. And because of that, I am completely safe.
I'm not safe in the sense that nothing bad will ever happen to me, or if I just 'speak safety over my future' with enough faith, no harm will ever befall me. We were robbed. That can certainly fall in the category of something bad happening. But because God Himself, the Strongest and most Significant Being in the whole world, holds me in His hands, nothing can ever touch me or happen to me that He has not allowed. His eyes are on me. 24-7. And He is doing good to me, no matter what it looks like to my eyes.
So I don't have to freak out. I don't have to move to the best neighborhood to make sure this never happens again. In order for me and my family to be safe, I don't have to be the strong one. I don't have to save myself. I am in GOD'S hands. And because of that, there is good, and not disaster, around the corner.
Sarah blogs regularly, connect with her at http://www.somuchhope.com/the-female-heart-alive.