TERROR ANYWHERE

   Down on the southern end of our Island, there is a lighthouse.

   When grandkids come, or even adult visitors sometimes, they want to go to the top. It used to be a lot easier to climb than it is now days, but I still get the same "weak-in-the-knees" feeling when I step out that door onto the landing and look down.

   Now I know that this is not an apt definition of "terror", but I still do not want to live all the time up there and have to continually visualize the drop to the ground.

   The headline of the local paper literally screams this morning:

   TERROR STRIKES BRUSSELS

   After the shock of seeing the news reports yesterday, and getting by the first reactions of fear for what it all means, my next thought was along the line of "we are going to get that here, too".

   So what defines my reaction to the mass killing of innocents there in Belgium?

   Shock, Dismay, Fear, Retribution?

   The troubling aspect of the whole scene is the sensation that the law enforcement people, as good and as brave as they may be, seem powerless to keep those attacks from taking place.

   One minute you may be thrilled about flying somewhere and the next scared to death, and it is all out of your control.

   I can sit here in South Georgia and blithely state that I will put my trust in God whatever may come our way. Easy to say from a few thousand miles away from the action.

   From Psalm 91:

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;"

   It may be easy to live this psalm out from our position of relative safety here, but what if it happens in Jacksonville, or Atlanta, or Brunswick?

   Or takes place in a spot where our kids are?

   Will our trust hold strong?

   God's Word does not stumble or change, but will I still believe it so?

   My prayer is:

   God, in time of trial, whatever it may be, keep me strong,

   Please