It's almost midnight, and I really don't have time to be blogging. I should go to bed, shouldn't I? I'm not one of these people who makes a habit of staying up late, so I won't be all I can be tomorrow if I don't get some sleep. Usually the Andy Griffith whistle is my Pavlov's bell. I hear it and I'm out like a light. But I had some work to finish tonight, so here I sit on my couch and all is quiet in the house. Seems like a good time to blog. However, I'll attempt to keep it short. :)

I've mentioned several times recently that my Bible study group has been doing a study on the life of Jesus. It's one I've done before, but it was six years ago, so it has been really great to do again. There are lots of things in this study that have had me thinking. One is about all the people that Jesus encountered that were possessed by demons. Why was it so common back then? Was there really this huge increase in demonic activity simply because the Christ had come to earth, Satan's territory, and he wasn't all that welcome here? Or is demon posession a more common ailment than we like to think?

What has me thinking about this tonight is the recent school shooting in Finland, of all places. This is not a country where gun violence is commonplace. The country is literally in shock over this student taking the lives of several classmates and a principal. He was apparently smiling and laughing throughout the grim ordeal. I'm thinking that in order to do something so evil, you must be possessed by demons. Violence is a hallmark of Satan, and he truly delights in the shedding of blood. Certainly we can't imagine Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris not being possessed. Or more recently, Cho Seung-Hui. Or Saddam Hussein. Or Osama bin Ladin. These are extreme, obvious cases of Satanic activity.

I live a pretty sheltered life. But I'm sure if I began to hang out in the types of places where my Jesus would be hanging out if He came today, even in my own small town, I'd probably encounter all kinds of things that would shock me, enrage me and make me extremely uncomfortable. But as He said, He came for those very ones that needed Him the most.

Speaking of my sheltered life, from time to time I reflect on how easy my life has been. It's a scary thing to write down if you carry any superstitious tendencies. But I was talking with a close friend the other day about how I've never truly experienced deep pain. I've experienced death, but not of anyone so close to me that I literally felt a part of me had died. I've experienced a shattered heel (very painful indeed, but I'm not speaking physically here.) That did force me to rely on others for help, but it isn't the kind of thing that sent me into a depression. It just happened, and I dealt with it. I've experienced rejection, but never on a level that made me want to crawl in a hole and never come out. My life has been good.

I have an amazing husband, three gorgeous kids, a church I love, friends that I would do anything for, and vice versa, a loving family, nice house, etc., etc. I have a job I love and a boss that I am deeply, spiritually connected to.

I'm not saying these things because I want something bad to happen. I absolutely don't. I know God has protected me from many horrible things. For instance, when Bailey was 2 years old, we were in a really bad car accident. As we were leaving for our destination 30 minutes prior to the wreck, I heard God tell me to look at Bailey's car seat. What I discovered was that although she was buckled into her car seat, the seat itself had not been fastened in. We had driven all the way to Georgia like that earlier in the day, and were about to drive all the way back to Tennessee. That was God, without a doubt in my mind. Had she not been buckled in when we t-boned a car going 65 miles an hour, I can't even allow myself to think about what could have happened.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Lord protected me and the kids from a horrible, fatal car crash on I-65. How many other times have I been protected and didn't even realize it? Surely it must be thousands.

There always seem to be those people in life who can't catch a break. It seems like they are hit with one catastrophe after another, until you are crying out to God for them, "Enough is enough! How much more can a person take?" And you wonder, why is all this happening to them? Then the survivor's guilt kicks in and you wonder, when is it going to be my turn? And you start waiting for the shoe to fall.

Yes, I have failed in my attempt to keep this short. But part of what got me thinking about all of this tonight was sitting behind a sweet, precious lady at choir practice. Her name is Carol, and she has brain cancer. She was supposed to go to Thailand with us in June, but was diagnosed just a month before the trip and was obviously unable to travel with all the treatment she was going through.

Tonight we were rehearsing a song called, "Lord, I Run to You," by Tommy Walker. Some of the lyrics say, "Lord, I run to you. No one else will do. Lord, you said we'd face trouble, pain and tears. But to be of good cheer, be of good cheer. For you have overcome the world."

I sat there behind Carol, who was holding the sheet music in one hand, and had the other lifted high in praise to her God. Carol, who is walking with a cane. Carol, who is wearing a scarf over her head to hide the loss of hair. She is facing unimaginable pain and fear, and yet knows exactly where her help comes from. Thank you, Jesus.

I am not suffering from "my life's too good"-itis. I'm perfectly content to go on with no major waves of pain. I just wish I could be sure that my faith would stand firm in the face of such trials. I pray that it would. I pray that God opens my eyes to the suffering going on all around me, and makes me a willing vessel to minister to those in need. Right now my days are so consumed with the busyness of daily living, I fear that I'm missing out on opportunities that are right in front of me.

All this to say, if you are in pain, I hope you have the power of the Holy Spirit working inside you. He can help you be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. Run to Him.