Day 79 - Safe Way Back

 For he will command his angels concerning

you to guard you in all your ways

Psalm 91:11

All my life I have felt the hand of God's protection, and I have witnessed miracles as have my children. People want to discount the obvious, but a true miracle cannot be disqualified as mere "luck." Circumstances often arise without a warning, yet He sees, and He protects.

I see a bit more clearly as an adult as I have grown closer in my walk with Him. As a child it is just second nature to trust. Adults, sadly, are not as trusting. Each day presents opportunities to thank God for watching over us, but as we go about our too busy lives preoccupied with way too much "stuff," we simply do not take the time to see.  

As I recapped my day last night I was so tired I had to put off posting this blog until this morning. Going back over the events of yesterday, and mulling over in my mind things throughout my life, I know He gives His angels charge over me.  Unlike my younger son, I have not been given the gift of seeing our angelic friends, but I sense their presence.

Each day I put my life at risk as do my fellow team members when we travel into extremely rural areas, sparsely populated, away from cell service. The mountain pass from my home to Taos alone is deadly with overhanging rocks that can fall and crush you or knock you over the edge into the rapidly flowing river sight unseen until it is too late. The pass can be 15 miles of "scary," but it is the only path to certain destinations. Due to the extreme cold and freezing, then warmer days and excessive rain storms, the rocks have loosened, and their have been many accidents. My friend had a near miss of death as she traveled just the short distance from her home to mine. Fortunately only the car was totaled, and she was not injured. She said her life flashed before her eyes in those moments.

We go to visit people we do not know, in areas of extreme poverty. I've met some wonderful folks and kindred spirits in my travels here, there, and yonder. But the areas can hardly be described as "south of Oz and north of Shangri-La".  I've never been a fearful person when it comes to doing my work; this is my mission field, so I enjoy the travel and meeting new friends. But honestly it is a risk. A couple of years ago right here on the outskirts of town a kind neighbor decided to take a meal to his sick neighbor. Unfortunately his timing wasn't the best, and he was the victim also of a gang style execution. I was in the same area that day, so I could have easily been a victim.

Traveling long distances is tiring, so driving back yesterday, after a battling all week with sickness, I was really sleepy. I had several frightening encounters on the journey home, but I realize that God does watch over me, protecting my every move. I am so grateful to my El Shaddai, and I praise God for friends who pray for me daily asking for God's protection over my life and the lives of others.

Listen to how the Psalmist expresses the provision of our Lord so beautifully:

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes

and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

We take so many things for granted each day, so I hope you'll be moved, as I am, to thank God for watching over you and giving you so much more than words can convey plus a safe way back.