I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)
My brothers and I used to spend a few weeks at my grandmother’s house every summer, and typically our three cousins on my mother’s side would be there with us.
The six of us had so much fun together at Mamma’s house . . . eating the foods that only Mamma could cook, rough-housing in her living room, watching way too much t.v., and assisting her as she served free cookies to all of the children in the neighborhood.
As much fun as we had at Mamma’s house, there was a downside. You see, Mamma lived in the ghetto. We always felt safe as long as we were inside of her house, but there was so much danger outside that we stayed inside the whole time whenever we visited her.
Six boys spending a week at a time together in Mamma’s two-bedroom apartment in the projects. As much fun as we had together, we also felt really restricted, cooped up, and trapped at times. But we were safe from the dangers that lurked just outside of her door as long as we continued to dwell in her house.
I remember seeing many shootouts between thugs and police, and many times an officer would stop by Mamma’s house in the middle of it to check on “Sister Means,” as she was called by many (her last name was Means). The officer would always give us the same advice: “Stay inside!” We knew that as long as we were inside, we were safe.
My grandmother lived in the projects in the midst of drug dealers, pimps, gang bangers, and assorted thugs. She lived in a dangerous neighborhood and a safe house. She did so much good in that neighborhood that the thugs protected her house. Once she went to the mall and left her key hanging on the outside of the front door. You would’ve thought that she would return to find her home cleaned out! Instead, she found a thug waiting on her porch, watching over her house. “Cookie Lady,” that’s what the neighborhood called her, “you left your keys in the door.”
Many live in the ghetto by necessity. Mamma lived there by choice. It was her ministry. God promised her at a young age that he would send her as a sheep among wolves. She reminded us of this word from the Lord each time we tried to move her out of the projects. What I learned by spending time in her house was that if I stay in the center of God’s will for my life, I can be in the midst of great danger, and yet be safe in the house.
Share your thoughts:
Have you ever felt safe in the midst of a dangerous place?
