the fourth and a tangent

i love thee fourth of july because of the people we spend it with. every year (for at least the last three years) we meet at the rohde house (our church's ministry house downtown), grill out, and then head to the fort to watch fireworks. and as much as i love this celebration, there is rarely any photographic documentation of the event because i am usually too busy enjoying time spent with friends. this year was no different.

we stayed until the fireworks began, but because they are always so late (9:30?! it gets dark at 8:30! why so late?!), and gabe and ezra were exhausted from the day's festivities, the loudness of the fireworks coupled with gabe's tiredness induced sensitivity send us away before their conclusion. no worries, though, that just meant that we were home in five minutes instead of the usual 2 hours.

after the fireworks at the fort die down, however, the real fun begins in our neighborhood. every year there are unending fireworks throughout the night and people walking loudly down the street. last year, there were guys shooting bottle rockets across the street as the cars went by (one right over our car... i almost had a heart attack before i realized that it was, in fact not aimed at our car).

this year was no different. at one-o-clock in the morning, just after i had entered ezra's room to give him some teething medication, the most horrifyingly loud bang reverberated throughout our house (if you have ever been here, you know that the openness of our home means that noises travel well). when steve and the dogs investigated, they came back with nothing, but upon my insistence that someone had body-slammed or kicked the door, steve checked closely out front only to find that there was, in fact, a shoe-shaped print on our front door.

it seems that someone decided to kick the door (not softly, might i add, because the house shook). usually when things like this happen (which they do around here: bottles on the roof, kids breaking windows with cinder blocks) it is as harmless as a few kids making mischief, and since steve found nothing when he went out the first time, we are assuming that it was just that (as opposed to someone trying to kick in the door).

i write all of that to get to this: God is sovereign and good. it is hard to remember these truths in the middle of the night, but i am blessed with a husband who always reminds me when i forget. we can live where we live without fear or worry because we worship a God who is bigger and stronger than the "dangers" here. and we know that even if, in His sovereignty, He brought suffering into our lives, He would also provide us sufficient grace to endure and would work it out for good.

and really, our neighborhood is a pretty safe place to live. just spooks a timid person like me every now and again and gets me thinking. so excuse the tangent!