Violated - Part 1

I'm not trying to create a dramatic story where I leave you on the edge of your seat. I simply want to document what happened on May 28, 2009. It's a long story and I want to record everything about it while it's still fresh in my mind. So that is why I will post it in "parts".

I'm determined that God will get the glory from this situation. Satan meant it for evil, but I will do everything I can to give the glory to God.

On Wednesday night, May 27, 2009, Tripp was at the station and I was getting the kids ready for bed. Ryan says to me, "Mama, I hope I don't that scary dream again."

Me: What is your scary dream?

R: That a bad man breaks into our house and kills you.

Me: (taken aback that my sweet boy would have such a disturbing dream) I'm sorry you've been having such scary dreams, Buddy. But you know what? Fear does not come from God, it comes from him down there (as I point to the ground). You have Jesus in your heart, right?

R: Yep.

Me: Well, Jesus has power over Satan and because Jesus is in your heart, you have power over Satan and he has to do what you say.

R: He does?

Me: Yes. So whenever you're scared, you need to say, outloud, "Satan, go away and leave me alone, in the name of Jesus Christ!"

R: Okay!

So I tucked the boys in, we said prayers, making sure to pray for sweet dreams. About 5 minutes later, Ryan comes out and says, "Mama, I keep telling him to go away but he keeps coming back into my thoughts." I said, "Buddy, you just need to tell him once and then turn your thoughts to Jesus. Pray to Jesus to help you not be afraid and listen to your music, sing to Jesus. Don't give Satan another thought." Ryan said, "Okay", and went back to bed.

So Ryan's dream and our conversation has really gotten me thinking about spiritual warfare. I believe that it is real. That there is a battle going on before us between good and evil.

The next evening, Thursday, I met up with some gals from my Bible study at a restaurant. We sat outside because it was such a beautiful night, had dessert and just hung out. It was a good time. I shared Ryan's dream and our conversation led to spiritual warfare and how important it is to pray over your home. We talked about physical protection for our home too. One of my friends has a monitored alarm system on her home because her husband is a flight nurse and is gone overnight sometimes. She also has a gun. I talked about how I get scared sometimes, when Tripp is at the station and how I wished we had an alarm system or something to make me feel more protected. Anyway, I went to use the restroom before we were leaving and just couldn't shake this fear that began to well up within me. I told the girls and they offered to pray with me, so we did.

As I headed home, it was about 10pm. I was driving my mother-in-law's Lincoln Navigator because Tripp's truck was being painted so we were borrowing their car while they were out of town. I stopped to get milk and continued on my way. It was an uneventful ride home. I had the windows down and enjoyed it, knowing that in another month, it will be too hot, even at 10pm to drive with the windows open. The restaurant was about 25 minutes from my house and I continued to have this feeling of uneasiness. I got off the freeway at 51st Ave. and the closer I got to my house, the better I began to feel. I turned down the street (Kings) that leads into my neighborhood and just started thinking about how much I like living here. I went past the park where my kids love to play and headed towards my street, 54th Ave. As I passed the park, I noticed headlights in my rearview mirror. I didn't think much of it, except that it was probably someone who lived in my neighborhood. The headlights continued behind me, not super close, but close. The person didn't turn down any side streets but kept on behind me. At that point, I had this feeling that I didn't think I should turn into my driveway. So I passed my driveway and turned into my cul-de-sac. The truck that had been behind me contined on and went around the corner. So I circled back around and pulled into my driveway and opened the garage with the opener.

Then the truck came back.

Now my fearful feelings were elevated. I quickly gathered up my purse, my milk and my garage door opener. The truck contined down our street, passed our cul-de-sac and as it passed our driveway, it slowed down and stopped. I could only see the back half of the truck because of our fence. I ran up the driveway and into the garage. Tripp came to the garage door and opened it because he had been sitting just inside the door in our office. He'd heard me running up the driveway. I said, "I'm scared. I'm really scared right now."