Petrified!!

Have you ever had something happen to you that absolutely freaked you out?! A couple of nights ago, it was particularly windy out and as I snuggled into bed and got all cozy I remember being so thankful that my house is sound and doesn't creak a lot on windy nights. Then, I drifted off to sleep, listening to the rustling of the leaves, not suspecting what kind of madness was soon to follow.

I'm not one who is easily awakened...in fact, most of the time, it's quite the endeavor to get me awake...so significant in fact, that I need more than one alarm to get me up every morning. But, this particular night, I awoke suddenly...so suddenly in fact that I flipped over in one quick movement and sat straight up in bed when I heard a loud "BANG". It was just one loud bang, that was it. Then it was silent. I began to think that I was just dreaming it up...and then, I heard it again a few minutes later and it seemed to be coming from a different place in the house this time...was it outside? Or was it coming from inside? I couldn't tell. My eyes were as big as saucers and as the creaking and banging continued...much too sporadically to be the wind in my opinion...my imagination began to go wild....in fact, I was completely and totally convinced that there must be an intruder in my house! I was petrified...if I hadn't been scared stiff (literally) I would have crawled into my closet with my pillow and blanket and spent the night there, or even crawled under my bed...but, in all my "sound thinking" at 3 AM, I knew the "intruder" would hear me move around because my floors creak a lot (the house IS 50+ years old, you know!) and so I stayed put...stiff as a board lying in my bed, with my phone in my hand, ready to dial 9-1-1 if needed and crying out to the Lord with much desperation to protect me through the night! I laid awake like that until my alarm went off at 6 AM.

I went outside in the morning and took a look at the outside of my house to see what could be causing such a racket during the night...it's amazing how less intimidating it is when the sun is shining brightly and all the shadows of the night have disappeared! All of a sudden I was super courageous! In my search, I found a little 8 oz plastic cup that the wind must have been throwing into the side of my house (it makes quite a racket when it hits the aluminum siding!). Other than that, I can only figure that the wind must have been wreaking havoc with my window well coverings. It's a little embarrassing to realize that these two little items were likely the reason for my petrified state only a few hours earlier! Things that seem so scary in the dark of night are put in proper perspective in the light of day.

Isn't it that way in our lives too? When we are in the thick of a trial, it can be so scary and sometimes we are petrified. It seems overwhelming when we are in the midst of the storm. But, when it passes, we can look back on it and see the faithfulness of the Lord and how He carried us along and provided for our every need.

Or perhaps its the sin in our lives....it's much more appealing through the eyes of the world, under the cover of darkness, but when we view it in light of God's word, it puts it into perspective...all of the sudden we see sin for the destructive and filthy thing that it is, no matter how appealing it once seemed. We know that in darkness things are never as they appear. We can't see things clearly and with proper perspective until we see them in the light.

"...let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly...But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

Romans 13:11-14