Comfort in His Word

Right Before my Eyes
We live in a rural area of Southern California, on a small dead-end “street.” My husband Rich shot this video tour of the neighborhood last winter. Our neighbors are one of our greatest blessings here; we enjoy a real sense of community on our little street.

Recently when our younger grandson Cadence came to visit, he and I took a walk. We stopped in, unannounced, at the home of a lovely neighbor, a stay-at-home mom who’s busy with three active sons. Accustomed to neighborhood children visiting her home, she gave us a warm welcome despite the ambush. Cadence ran off to play with her youngest son and she and I sat down to talk.

She was apologetic that her home wasn’t more orderly (I thought it looked typical of homes full of happy, healthy kids, but I digress). Then she told me that her husband had just left for two weeks overseas and that she was struggling with anxiety, heightened by his absence.

Recent transplants from suburbia, she worries about fire and flood in our rural area. Her concern is legitimate: fires in the wilderness of Southern California are an eventuality, rather than a possibility. I blogged about our experience during the Santiago Fire of 2007 here. And the creek running behind her property has overflown its banks. Specifically, she worries about the possibility of being trapped, due to the dead-end street, in the event of an emergency evacuation. An easement appears on county maps but isn’t recognized by the property owner whose land the easement crosses, exacerbating the situation.

We chatted a bit and I did my best to be encouraging. I marveled as this woman, who had told me she’s struggling, effortlessly managed her three boys and their buddies who came and went. Snacks? No problem! Permission for the oldest to head off for parts unknown? Denied, with a smile. I gave her our phone number and invited her to call us if we could do anything for her, especially during her husband’s absence.

The very next morning, when I opened my Bible to read, I found this verse in the day’s pages:

16 Justice will rule in the wilderness
and righteousness in the fertile field.
17 And this righteousness will bring peace.
Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people will live in safety, quietly at home.
They will be at rest.
19 Even if the forest should be destroyed
and the city torn down,
20 the Lord will greatly bless his people.
Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up.
Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.
Isaiah 32:16-20 (NLT)

And I was reminded again, as I sent the verse off to my anxious neighbor, that we can always find solace in His word.

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105 (NLT)