We can become very comfortable in our own little contrived slices of Heaven on Earth... our Welcome Retreats we have established within the walls we inhabit on a regular basis.
Enjoying our Precious Loved Ones... and their accomplishments and milestones... such as the recent Kindergarten Graduation of one of our Grandchildren, the Lovely Princess R who lives in Mexico. Yes, we are so Proud... and we can become so insulated from the harshness of the outside World when we strive mightily to live Righteously and within the boundaries of our Faith, our Character, our Morals and Lifestyle. And that's Okay... I make no apologies for that in fact, it's our choice.
But what happens my Friends when something outside of our control and best laid plans interrupts our Serenity, our Lives and the way we wish to Live them... something totally unexpected that we become confronted by and the Lord lays us in the Path of... where we must choose in an instant what to do... or not to do... because we have been chosen to be there in that particular Moment in Time... when we are faced with that often difficult decision of Involvement in the Lives of others... especially when it involves something we know not to be right, someone else's drama unfolding, something uncomfortable, shocking or unlovely? Yes, it can be easy to Rescue Stuff... but what about Rescuing People? What then?
Yesterday the Young Prince and I were faced with such an unexpected and shocking situation... something where an instant decision had to be made and time was of the essence... because on our way driving Home from his School we witnessed a shocking crime unfolding right in our path... the brutal assault and involuntary abduction of a teenaged girl!!! And our intervention could mean the difference between Life and Death for this unfortunate Young Woman as she tried to escape and begged us for help!!!
In the blink of an eye our day had turned from Zen and uneventful and all about us and our perfect little day... to being Witnesses to a Crime taking place right in front of us and nobody but us to possibly intervene and become Involved or ignore! Though I had a Grandchild with me, which certainly caused internal conflict between our safety and that of the Victim, instantly my mind went to my own Daughters and Grand-Daughters... to myself... what if this were one of US and not her? Certainly we would want someone... anyone to become Involved and Help to rescue us from our attacker!!!
I won't go into the grim details of what we Witnessed, but trust me that it was totally shocking, brutal and I knew in my Heart that if this Girl were dragged back into the vehicle she had been dragged by and escaped from she might not survive her attack!! It was a sickening feeling to know that her Life could be in my hands and my instant decision on what to do... or what not to do had such dire consequences! I Prayed for Strength, Wisdom and God's Protection for us all and I jumped out of our vehicle and confronted the offender... imagining that it was my Child or Grandchild he was trying to drag away in front of Witnesses in broad daylight!!! It made me Angry... so Angry in fact that Fear left me and all of my focus was on getting that Girl away from him to safety and into our vehicle!
And thankfully, since he realized I was determined and was calling Police, he let her go... the relief I felt was almost overwhelming as it washed over me and he drove away... the prospect of what could have happened, did happen in front of us and might have already happened to her before our crossing made me heartsick. Victims have to Live with the Crimes committed against them for the rest of their Lives, I only Pray the Lord brings Comfort, Protection and Strength to her and the Family through this ordeal.
Thankfully we were right near our Home when this all transpired and so we were able to take her in to Safety, surrounded by strong, Godly, Real Men who have been raised to Protect and Cherish Women and Children and not victimize them. She felt Safer and Protected as we awaited the Paramedics and Police to arrive... as every Young Woman should feel. I knew she was physically hurt, but I also knew she was emotionally hurt and wrecked by this horrible experience... that kind of damage takes much more time to Heal than the Healing of the Physical Body.
There we all sat waiting... in our Welcome Retreat... the Home that we have Feathered and Established to bring Shelter, Comfort, Beauty, Happiness & Safety for our Family... now Sheltering a complete Stranger, whose Path had been intersected by ours by Divine Appointment I Believe.
And as she profusely Thanked us again and again for Helping, for getting Involved, for Caring, for Saving her Life... I realized once again what a profound Impact we all have upon each other in this Life... whether for Good or for Bad...
How our Choices often make more of a difference than we may ever know... and certainly... even with the best of Intentions things can, and sometimes do, still go very, very wrong... even for the Good Samaritans.
And it led me to Contemplate whether taking that Risk was the Right thing to do, the Logical thing to do... because after the fact, certainly I mulled over everything that could have gone South in that confrontation... I didn't know the back end story of the Crime taking place... or the implications... or potential consequences... and I Believe that is why many Good People often hesitate or fail to Act or get Involved.
Self preservation is after all an Instinctive reflex for us all... hard wired into us by the Divine Creator.
But wired in there is also Compassion, Empathy, Maternal Instincts, a sense of what is Right and what is Wrong. And at my Season of Life that is pretty clear to me as far as knowing and doing Right opposed to doing Wrong personally. And as a Christian, it is my Belief that to see Wrong and do nothing would be Sin to me. Just as surely I would be as accountable before God to turning a blind eye and choosing to ignore Wrong and doing Nothing as if I were doing the Wrong myself. Each person must decide to do what they Believe to be Right and you never know when you will be Called to Prove it.
So for me this Test, as you will, as to my Faith, my Spirit, my Character, my Actions... on what I would do... or wouldn't do... when Confronted with a Real Life situation where I would be Tested above measure and beyond my own Strength and Abilities... well, it had to be made by Spirit and above Natural Instinct or Logic... because I was afraid and I had to overcome the Fear and there was no Time to think it through carefully and weigh all my options or lack thereof.
I knew in my Heart & Spirit what the Right thing to do was... but would I? Would I have the Courage to confront Evil? Would I have the Faith to blindly Trust my God to Protect us... to Protect this perfect Stranger... and to not care or think about all the "What Ifs"?
And I knew that nobody, no person anyway, would blame me if I had not become Involved... after all, we were just a Gramma and an 11 year old Boy... and in our own Strength we were Weak compared to the out of control and dangerous Beast that we were confronting with his Prey. He didn't want to let her go, he was refusing initially to let her go... Challenging me... hoping to Intimidate enough to get away with what his Evil Plan was!!!
And doesn't the Enemy always work that way my Friends? To Intimidate, to destroy, to Separate us and single us out so that we can be easily picked off from the Safety of the Group? Alone we are very vulnerable... Insulated in our own little World and oblivious to the needs of others we can become so very comfortable and hesitant to step or be dragged out of our comfort zone and the safety of our little Cocoons... of the Lives we have so carefully orchestrated and created and don't want interrupted by the dramas that unfold out there. Well... until it is us that is... and there is nobody to Help when we are the "Ones" in Crisis... perhaps begging for Help... will there be anyone there for us we might wonder?
And we never really know how we will react in a Crisis... be it our Crisis or the Crisis of someone else that we are drawn into either intentionally or unintentionally. Nobody knows what the Future holds and what Test and Trials lie ahead. And that is why it is crucial to be connected to our Source... to spend Time with the Lord Daily so that we are Partnered with Him and know Him well enough that Trust becomes second nature to us and we stand on our Faith and know that it will hold even when all Hell is breaking loose around us. That we fully Believe that His Strength is made Perfect in our Weakness and our Test will become a Testimony of His Faithfulness and Mercies.
That His Glory and Might will be Revealed to others through what we have come through victoriously... because obviously it was not us, but the Lord that Prevailed... and I know that to be so in this particular incident... and I am glad that the Lord and His Angels were with us and stood with us to confront one of the devil's advocates being controlled by Evil impulses and desires, and caring not about the Precious Life of a Beautiful Young Teenage Girl.
And Today after she got out of the Hospital I had the distinct Surprise and Pleasure of having this Young Girl and her Mother come back to Thank us. We wept, we hugged each other, we talked... I was so Thankful that she was going to be Okay and her external injuries were not severe enough to be Life threatening from her harrowing experience. I could feel... as a Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother... the Relief and Grateful Heart towards the Lord's Protection that her Dear Mother had at her Daughter surviving and being spared from such a horrible Life threatening experience.
And I too was Grateful that our Paths crossed that fateful day... at just the right juncture in her Journey of Life to give her a Chance and a Future... for it not to have been cut short by Evil. Not that I anticipated or was glad for having my Grandson and I experience such a shocking Crime... but that the Lord Revealed His Presence so Mightily and that Good prevailed over Evil... and in these times when we hear of so much of the bad it is refreshing to have a Story with a Good outcome.
And that my Grandson was able to Witness me doing the Right thing... and participate in it... and walking the walk of Faith and not just talking the talk of Faith. Because our Actions are far more powerful than our words and if we don't stand for something we shall fall for anything and have no Power. Not that any of us want to be Heros for a Day... I have deep Respect for those who are, by Choice, a True Hero... I don't have that Courage... but every so often we accidentally get the chance to prove ourselves, to know ourselves better... and draw Srength and Faith out that we didn't realize we had within us being held in Reserve by the Holy Spirit... God Within us.
And I Pray my Friends that if you ever are Challenged by Life that you dig deep within yourselves to tap into that Reserve that the Holy Spirit has at your disposal... and Act in Faith, Confident and Involved in the Moment... because demons tremble at such things as Faith in Action.
And may God continue to Bless us and Our Home... to Him be ALL the Glory! Amen.
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian