Day #3: Fear Not

A while back I wrote a little snippet of this story, but I feel like maybe this should be shared again.

When I was a little girl, we moved from a small gentleman’s farmhouse to a house in the city.

At that old house on that land, I shared a room with my big sister, Rebecca.

We lived a simple pasture distance from my cousins and maybe a mile down the road from my Grandparents.

Then we moved.

No, not to another town, but to TOWN.

I remember my parents saying,

“In our new house, you’ll get your own room.”

I totally thought that’s what I wanted.

Finally, I don’t have to share.

Well, that first night in our new house, the lights went off.

I heard sirens in the city.

I heard noises that were unfamiliar.

I was alone.

So I grabbed my pillow and went to Becca’s room.

for two years.

Eventually I eased my way out of being afraid to sleep alone, but it took night lights.

It took falling asleep before the rest of the house did.

But one thing I remember was my Dad.

He would tuck me in at night.

He would leave two lights on in the living room to shine into my room, so if I woke up I could see light and not be afraid.

He would say, “If you get scared, just holler out. I’m right down the hall. I’ll hear you and holler back so you’ll know how close I am. Remember, LouLou, Greater is He living within you than He that is in the world.”

That bedroom that I once slept in no longer has sunflowers and dolls, and dance competition medals dangling from every corner.

It’s a grown up guest room.

My mom made it pretty and welcoming for any guest who randomly decides to pop in and stay (which with the Plunketts is a VERY common thing.)

Recently I slept in that room after a surgery and opened my eyes in the middle of the night, only to see that living room light on.

My Dad still does it.

He still leaves the light on.

Maybe it’s habit.

Maybe they actually always wanted it on to begin with.

But it reminded me how close the Father is to my heart.

He leaves the light on.

He created us and knows what is scary.

That light is love, shining into fear with perfection.

No matter how old we get, no matter how scary our lives become, no matter how hard the enemy presses up against us,

That light is always on.

Day 3: Fear not, He is incredibly close to you.