At 3:30 this morning I was awakened by a loud beeping noise downstairs. It was the security system that was installed on my dining room wall by the people who lived in the house before me. And even though I have been under the impression that the sercurity service is no longer monitoring the house, the monitor device still lights up and looks menacing at night, so I have left it there to deter would be burgalers.
So, here it was 3:30 in the morning and the alarm was going off. I tripped over the cats, hurried downstairs -- flipping all of the lights on as I passed -- and stood in front of the monitor feeing suddenly a little bit worried. The alarm service monitors for break-ins at the front door and back door, and "motion in the living room." And suddenly I wondered two things: 1.) Is this service actually still working. 2.) And if so, has someone just broken into my house?
I grabbed the cell phone, dialed 9-1-... and carried the phone with me, finger on the 1, as I checked all the dark spaces downstairs -- the closets, the front and back doors -- praying all the way "Lord, keep us safe tonight."
All was safe in the house. And when I called the security alarm people, they said it was likely just a problem with the battery. I crawled back into bed and said the prayer again, just to be sure. "Lord, give us safety for the rest of the night."
And then I thought about it. Why was my first instinct to ask God for "safety?" Why not "courage" to face whatever situation was about to present itself to me?
And I wondered
Is it a cultural thing?
Are we so used to having "safety" here in our country -- where the police are generally NOT corrupt, where wars fought by our nation are generally played out on other nations' soil and near other peoples' homes -- that we cannot imagine having to face danger and still trust God in the midst of them?
Or, on the other side of that coin, are we so afraid in this country -- where gang violence, house break-ins, thefts, and drug related crimes are regrettably common in urban settings like ours -- that we pray only for "safety," so that we don't have to see what our God is really made of when things get scary around us?
And if we habitually pray for safety and not for courage, what will that mean when we again enter an era in this country when tough choices about reputation and safety must be made on behalf of what is right? Choices like those that people made during the era of the underground railroad, the civil rights movement of the 60s, or even during the Holocaust in Europe? What about folks who make these tough decisions in their daily lives today? Peace workers in South America, Iraq, and Congo; Church leaders in underground churches in Indonesia and beyond...
And so at 3:30 in the morning I paused to ask the question: Are we really so far from a time when we as U.S. Christians must also ask for courage in addition to just safety? And if we do so, what amazing things might God be able to do among us and through us?
I admit, I prefer safety. But perhaps I should think of these things more often at 3and 4 in the morning.
Because now I wonder this: Is setting off alarms in my house at 3am the only way that God can get me to sit in silence in the dark...and really, truly listen?
Perhaps it is.
- Janelle
5 comments:
So glad you are safe! That said, great thoughts for noodlin' ;-)
I too am glad you are safe! But I appreciate your thoughts about courage and how God acts to get our attention. I think too often what we percieve as 'safety' keeps us from interacting with those that are different from us, those who God may be calling us to interact with, and from whom we could learn so much. It takes a lot of courage to step out of the safe zone!
Lisa
Amen, Lisa. : )- Janelle
Congo-Kinshasa: UN Mission Says Recruitment of Child Soldiers is Surging
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UN News Service (New York)
14 December 2007
Posted to the web 15 December 2007
Hundreds of under-age boys and girls are being forcibly recruited by rival armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and sent to the front lines of the escalating conflict in North Kivu province in the far east of the country, the UN mission reported today.
The mission, known as MONUC, has identified the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP), the group led by the renegade General Laurent Nkunda, and the Front Démocratique de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) as the two main groups responsible for the forced recruitment of children into armed conflict.
The groups deliberately canvass sites such as schools, camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other venues to recruit children, leading to the closure of several schools and the noticeable absence of young children among many communities in the volatile province. Families which try to resist the recruitment often face retaliation.
Many of the estimated 8,500 former child soldiers who have been rescued by the UN and other humanitarian organizations since 2004 have been re-recruited in the last few months or used as sex slaves, according to the mission.
MONUC pledged in a press statement released today in Kinshasa to redouble its efforts to protect children and prevent their forced recruitment into the armed groups, and it issued a call to those groups to immediately end the practice.
The warning comes amid mounting UN concern about the overall humanitarian situation inside North Kivu, where tens of thousands of people are on the move again after some of the worst fighting since the DRC civil war formally ended in 2003.
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An estimated 800,000 Congolese are now internally displaced within North Kivu, including 170,000 who have been forced to flee in only the past four months since fighting escalated between Government forces (known as FARDC), troops loyal to Gen. Nkunda and rebel groups such as the FDLR.
The security situation is so difficult that UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) teams and other relief workers are unable to reach many areas of North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda. More than 4,500 MONUC troops have been deployed to help ensure the defence of Goma, the capital, and the key town of Saké.
In a related development, UNHCR António Guterres was today in the national capital, Kinshasa, to meet with senior Government officials at the start of a five-day visit to assess the deteriorating situation in North Kivu and nearby areas.
Congo-Kinshasa: UN Mission Says Recruitment of Child Soldiers is Surging
Email This Page
Print This Page
Comment on this article
UN News Service (New York)
14 December 2007
Posted to the web 15 December 2007
Hundreds of under-age boys and girls are being forcibly recruited by rival armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and sent to the front lines of the escalating conflict in North Kivu province in the far east of the country, the UN mission reported today.
The mission, known as MONUC, has identified the Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP), the group led by the renegade General Laurent Nkunda, and the Front Démocratique de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) as the two main groups responsible for the forced recruitment of children into armed conflict.
The groups deliberately canvass sites such as schools, camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other venues to recruit children, leading to the closure of several schools and the noticeable absence of young children among many communities in the volatile province. Families which try to resist the recruitment often face retaliation.
Many of the estimated 8,500 former child soldiers who have been rescued by the UN and other humanitarian organizations since 2004 have been re-recruited in the last few months or used as sex slaves, according to the mission.
MONUC pledged in a press statement released today in Kinshasa to redouble its efforts to protect children and prevent their forced recruitment into the armed groups, and it issued a call to those groups to immediately end the practice.
The warning comes amid mounting UN concern about the overall humanitarian situation inside North Kivu, where tens of thousands of people are on the move again after some of the worst fighting since the DRC civil war formally ended in 2003.
Relevant Links
Central Africa
Arms and Military Affairs
Children and Youth
Conflict, Peace and Security
Congo-Kinshasa
Human Rights
An estimated 800,000 Congolese are now internally displaced within North Kivu, including 170,000 who have been forced to flee in only the past four months since fighting escalated between Government forces (known as FARDC), troops loyal to Gen. Nkunda and rebel groups such as the FDLR.
The security situation is so difficult that UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) teams and other relief workers are unable to reach many areas of North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda. More than 4,500 MONUC troops have been deployed to help ensure the defence of Goma, the capital, and the key town of Saké.
In a related development, UNHCR António Guterres was today in the national capital, Kinshasa, to meet with senior Government officials at the start of a five-day visit to assess the deteriorating situation in North Kivu and nearby areas.
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