The Scary Man!

Hope was not real verbal as a toddler.  Taking concepts and turning them into sentences was a challenge for her for longer than it should have been.  You can only imagine our surprise when a friend of our family approached our car to talk with Greg.

This was a man from our church.  As Hope watched him approach our car, she started in with words and thoughts we were sure we weren’t hearing correctly.  But the closer He came to our car it was quite clear what she was saying,  “Scary Man!”  “Scary Man!”

In the midst of being tickled at Hope’s assessment of our friend from church, we were trying to quiet her words so as not to BE understood.  It was one of those situations where we were trying to get our child to NOT be quiet so verbal.

I’m thinking our friend more looked like the “Boogie Man” to Hope.  It’s amazing how we can conjure up fears of what we have never seen or had explained.  However opening my door a few times tonight to those who were “trick or treaters” made me think the “Scary Man” or the “Boogie Man” had returned.

Seeing young people dressed as “scary men” reminded me of what I read this morning.  Psalm 140 – 142 deals with real boogie men, scary men, really the evil of our world and our response.

Psalm 142

I cry to you, Lord;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”

⁶ Listen to my cry,
    for I am in desperate need;
rescue me from those who pursue me,
    for they are too strong for me.
⁷ Set me free from my prison,
    that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about me
    because of your goodness to me.

Moms, there is evil in our world.  There are evil people, evil circumstances, even evil in us.  Our flesh is weak.  God will always be our refuge. He is always good.

Let’s get our eyes off the evil off of the circumstances, off people who distract us.  We can spend time in God’s Word, with God’s people and run into the goodness of our perfect Heavenly Father.