Friday was a fantastic day! I mean really. I went to Kansas City for my first ever back massage. A 16 hour drive home from Florida a week before has left my back twisted and tangled in new ways. I am still skeptical to get going with a chiropractor. So the safest route for me appeared to be the massage.
The only way I can describe a back massage, having never had one before, is somewhere between punishment and ecstasy wrapped up in 30 minutes. Not sure why it works this way but I felt like she was abusing me part of the time and bring a new level of joy in my life the other part.
But when I got up I was a new man. Fantastic! I was a bit back to normal. I needed that more than I could have ever known.
Rest of the day was a relaxed venture with some of my favorite foods and good books. A much needed Sabbath that has been a long time coming.
Until 3:30…..
As always my daughter and I walked in our home and my first glance of the living room kicked on my parenting switch immediately. Why in the world is the living room so out of sorts. The console that our television sits on had the doors flung wide open and it was moved out from the wall. So now I know my offender is Luke. In 10 minutes I am picking him up from school and we will have words.
Oh wait…his XBOX is gone! Don’t think he can get that in his backpack to take to school. And a glance to the kitchen where I notice the sliding glass door is wide open sets the scene in motion. A dash to the kitchen to notice that our computer is missing.
We had been robbed
The next 30 minutes are a blur for me. A daughter in tears, police executing a tactical move through my home to make sure know one else is in the house, a walk through to tell the officer everything they have taken, conversation with my wife that sends her home from work early to come be a mom.
Sad, angry, scared, embarrassed
At the end of our experience, the whole family sitting on the couch stunned from the event, I can capture this experience in one word.
VIOLATED
And that word has not left me. Have your home broke into is this feeling of hopelessness and anger all wrapped up in one. Violated feels out of control. Who did it? Why did they do it? The police asked if I have any enemies that might have done this. Definitely in high school/college. Now 19 years in the faith as of this month it is hard to find someone that would be so angry at me they would need to break in. I thought for a second that might have been an easier answer, an enemy would have brought closure and an action step to take.
The weekend rushed by. Many talks as a family. Dad, the family therapist, making sure no wounds or trauma’s have set in from this incident. I am sure as I look back now, too many questions and I am sure by Monday people were ready to return to our normal lives.
For me, as the dust settled, I wrestled with the question the police officer asked once again. “Do you have any enemies that might have done this?” My question turned away from our physical world into a more spiritual question. Would have been weird for me and the police officer but as I sit on the question longer I would have like to say:
“well yes officer I sure do, but you can’t see him”
I am as quick as anyone around me to work hard to push this to the back burner of life. I don’t really want to face some of the cold hard truth comes with this fact. I have worked as hard as many to find a safe little comfortable life that affords me as much safety as I can afford. At this point, if you want to break into my home, I have the latest and greatest alarm system. Pretty much you will get a ninja kick if you crest the interior of our home when it is not the correct time.
But the truth is, WE LIVE IN A WORLD AT WAR whether we like it or not.
You mean the war that is happening in other countries surronding us? Nope…crack open the bible and look. Not geographical sensitive.
Ephesians 6:12The Message (MSG)
A Fight to the Finish
10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Oh. Hmmmm
This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Well…I am not sure that I signed up for all that. I am choosing to camp out on baby Jesus in a manger with little fat angels that look really happy singing super happy tunes. Yeah…I will go with that!
But actually I did. See, when we received the greatest invitation of all time we signed up to PARTNER with the greatest man that ever walked this earth. Did you hear that, we get to partner.
Philippians 1:5New Living Translation (NLT)
5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
And that partnership is to bring more light into dark places. I have wrestled with this for years. Can you imagine that God’s way to advance his Kingdom on earth is to use super messed up people trusting them with the greatest message ever. Not that I am super business savvy, but really?! Seems like a really poor model.
Anyways, we know two things. We are a world at war. And. We get to partner with Jesus in the greatest mission of all time to bring light into dark places.
So violated, yes. It has been about a month now and we are back to normal. Kinda. Still some anxiety and fear. A little. But, do me and my family have a better awareness of the world we live in? For sure.
I must live in this world with this understanding. To not is neive. I will become a very skewed person as I watch ISIS and Nepal and Baltimore unfold around me without this basic biblical view. Create as much safety as you wish but evil will exist and our enemy is working hard to advance his Kingdom just as our Father is doing the same.
You live in a world at war.
You get to partner with the greatest man ever
You will bring light into dark places in a way no one else can
Bob A Clifton 