Startled by Peace (in Millville)
posted Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 (No Comments)
We are exhausted this week. last week brought these incidences to our block: a stabbing and shooting, a productive visit from the U.S. Marshals, a drug raid, and multiple minor unrelated arrests.
Do you know Isaiah 43:1-2? It is part of a passage of scripture that I first remember reading at a time when fear filled my being like I’d never imagined it could. These words of promise washed me then, and over the years I’ve looked back on that gift of peace through easy and difficult times alike. it reads:
But now, this is what the LORD says—
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Since all that occurred last week, two or three people have mentioned these verses to me on separate occasions. Through the bit of shock, I am realizing I have never felt so close to the kind of overwhelming danger described in Isaiah, even as I recall other moments from the past where I truly have escaped peril. What may be the most risky place I have ever lived is likely among a thousand other places I have been where destruction or death was at my door and I was simply unaware.
Oh, praise God, who has named me! I am his and he is ever my Savior! Bullets were fired in front of my porch, more than grazing my car. neighbors witnessed me give information to the police. A drug raid happened right outside my window. I’ve seen many frightening events, yet my kids have missed them all. In the course of theses events, among other merry things, we as a family have played on our sidewalks, met new neighbors, put plants in our yard and welcomed more first-time visitors to our home.
I may be tired and a little disoriented, but the Hand of peace guards me. My sheltered heart can live with joy and find rest in the midst of this torrent.
Cheri Atkinson
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