Not Knowing What To Do

The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.  Chuck Swindoll

Do you ever question what to do with events in your life?  This morning that happened with me.  I was leaving my house to drive to work.  I pulled out of my alley and drove to the corner near our house and I saw a man.  At 5:30am there are not many people out and about, much less awake, so seeing someone walking down the sidewalk at that time of morning is slightly unusual.   

So I pull up to the corner and this man is walking down the sidewalk.  He looked to be about 6 feet tall, had on a tan coat, dark pants, a hunting cap with ear flaps and was carrying a backpack.  You really don’t ever want to come into my neighborhood because if I see you I will give the police a good description of you. 

Anyway, in less than a minute I looked at the man, determined what he was wearing, turned the corner and was pulling onto the freeway.  In the span of a minute several scenarios ran through my head.  This man didn’t look like he was out getting exercise or walking his dog. There was no dog.  I next thought about my husband asleep in our house and this guy is crossing the street in front of our house. Then I thought about why the guy was carrying a backpack.  My next thought was maybe he is homeless. Then I pictured this guy breaking into our house or one of the neighbor’s houses and so I decided to call 911. 

I don’t often call 911 so when my speaker came on in my car I said call 911 and she dialed a banker we do business with whose name is in my contact list.  So I had to figure out how to quickly end that call and try another option.  I finally hit call and when she came on again I said very loudly and slowly, “9”---- “1”---- “1”.  She finally got it right this time and the 911 operator came on the line.  I gave her the description of the guy and then hung up.

I thought about this incident the whole way to work. Several things came to mind.  God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  The homeless man scenario came back to mind so I prayed for him.  I do have a healthy sense of self-preservation so I am not going to stop and ask him if he needs help.  I didn’t know his circumstances but God does.  Then I prayed for the police officers who might show up to find out what he is doing in our neighborhood.  Then I prayed that if this was one of my neighbors; that they would forgive me for calling the police on them.  Then I got sort of paranoid and thought; what if this guy remembers what I look like, knows what my car looks like, and saw me come out of the alley.  It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to find out where I live.  So I prayed that God would protect me and remove the fear. 

I admit there are more times than not that I don’t have the answers and I will often ask myself what should I do in any given situation.  Since the Bible has all the answers I will ever need, I think I will go back there and spend some more time with God.  He will give me the answers if I search and ask.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am not sure why seeing this man in my neighborhood bothered me.  Maybe it was the way he looked or the time of morning I saw him, but it concerned me enough to do something about it.  I became fearful and possibly judged this person unfairly.  I pray that you will help me to overcome fear and to not judge others.  I pray that if this man is homeless that you would allow the police officers to help him.  I ask for your guidance in circumstances such as this where I am unsure of the right thing to do in Your eyes.  I want to honor and glorify You in everything I do.  Even with a stranger in my neighborhood. 

Scripture: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  Isaiah 41:10