I was awakened at 1:30 a.m. last night by a call on my cell phone. I didn’t pick up, because the caller ID said “Private Number.” But then the call went to voicemail, and I suddenly remembered that the police sometimes block their ID. Two of my daughters are living elsewhere this summer. What if something happened? And so in the wee morning hours I sat alone in the dark, adrenaline rushing, and forced myself to listen to the message.
From the first moments it was clear that the call was unintended; it was a pocket call, dialed automatically when a cell phone bumping into something. But why would my number be on this unknown cell phone?
I listened to three minutes of muted voices in the background–they were young men in a car–to make sure that no one suddenly screamed or that something was said that indicated a crime was in process. There was nothing; it was just a random call. And then I lay down to try (hah!) to go back to sleep.
What is it about nighttime that magnifies fear? I suspect we’re vulnerable then because the devil wants us to forget that God “has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” (Colossians 1:13)
He wants us to forget that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
So I sat in the living room, alone, and prayed my way back to an awareness of the light. I prayed for the young men who had accidentally called me, asking that grace and blessings be showered upon them. I prayed for each of my daughters, that they might be safe.
I prayed for those I know who are going through dark depression, asking that the light of Christ might pierce the thick mood which envelops them. It took a while, but eventually my heart calmed, and I went back to sleep.
Whew.
