“Been thinking about all of you!”
The above is what I wrote earlier today (yesterday) while I was out on my walk along the river. Now I lay here in bed in the middle of the night, and my head is jumbled up with all sort of thoughts. My heart isn’t racing as you might expect. Instead, it’s processing what’s happening, and praying for protection.
It’s 12:38 AM, and about 13 mins ago I was awakened by gunshots going off in the distance. A LOT of gunshots. As I lay here listening, the shots keep firing. Its a crisp, clear popping sound off in the distance, “pop, pop, pop…”. Its a fast and steady sequence, like methodical popcorn in a kettle on the stovetop.
I can’t tell if the shots are being fired on this side of the river, or if the sound is carrying from further off in the distance. I listen and try to see if I can hear where the shots are coming from. But I can’t tell.
It’s surreal.
I look out across the river. The night is clear and calm. It’ll soon be a full moon. The brilliant moonbeams sparkles in the glistening water. The river glows.
It’s such a contrast to the sound of violence and unrest echoing from the zinging bullet firing out there in the dark shadows just beyond the reach of the silver moonlight.
This is the second time in recent days that I’ve heard gunshots late in the night. And now my heart is pounding. My thoughts are all jumbled up as I ask a million questions.
This is my calm quiet American neighborhood. This is not a foreign war-torn land. What is this the sound of that I hear? Is it a cry for help? Is it a cry of desperation? Is it a cry for love, for freedom, for peace? Do my neighbors hear the gunshots? Do they care?
I want to leave the area. I want to stay. This is my home. I shouldn’t have to run to escape violence.
I pray God keeps me safe. I pray He guides me, and shows me what to do. I pray for our nation. I pray for love, for peace, for unity.
I look back out across the river. The shimmering moonlight is still glistening on the glassy silver river. The night is calm, and the cool air beckons me to inhale the fresh night oxygen.
I pause…
Beautiful In Time 