Fear be gone, be gone! Fear be gone! SCAT!

I woke up this morning at 4:45 to the sound of three drunk male voices beneath my window. They were tormenting the neighbors dog and speaking in really loud voices. I seemed to have woke up in a start and lay there listening to what they were saying. Then I heard the sound of a door knob being fiddled with, drunken laughter and more fiddlin'. I froze. I swore these guys were trying to get into my house! I ran to my bedroom door, locked it, ran back to my bed and peered out of my window. Nothing. I couldn't see any shadows, no people, no dog. Just sounds. Then the door opened, the voices got louder and then they started to fade. It was the neighbors 17 year old son and his friends. It sounded so real and so close because my window had been open and their back door is only about 3 steps away from our back door. They ended up coming back outside and yelling at the dog for a while.

I couldn't believe how shaken up I was. I think it brought me back to the incident I had while running last Friday night. I had gone for a run around St. Norbert at about 11:30 pm and as I reached the corner of Grandmont and Pembina I saw a car swerving out of control with crazed-drunken hollering coming from it. This car proceeded to jump a boulevard and drive into oncoming traffic, still hooting and hollering. At this point I decided to run even faster! I ran till I was completely out of breath and then walked really fast. I kept a pretty good pace until I reached my road and then felt this intense need to run as fast as I could and pray in tongues.

So, there I am sprinting down rue Le Maire and praying in tongues when I hear the squeal of tires and a drunken frenzy from this same vehicle that was driving straight towards me down my road. It was like one of those moments where you feel like your nightmare has become a reality. I ran until my lungs burned and till I thought my legs would give away on me. My thought pattern was thus: I could either continue running and PRAY that I make it into my house before these guys reach me or see where I live or I could jump into a bush or hide behind a car and wait for them to leave. I decided to run and try and make it inside. My prayer then became: Lord, please help my key to go in smoothly! I have issues with getting the front door open on a good day, never mind being chased by a car of drunk guys and having run (really fast) for about 20 minutes or so. I ended up getting into my house and locking the door just before I heard the thump, thump, thump of their deflated tire. They parked right outside my door and put their flashers on. I called my mom, sat on Matt and Rachelle's bed and asked her to pray for me.

Now, after this morning I realize that I don't think these guys necessarily parked in front of my house because they saw me run into it. They may have been picking up my neighbor. However, I was scared spitless.

Moral of these stories. I don't want to live in fear. I kept quoting scriptures this morning and when I realized that I was shaking because of fear it made me kind of angry. When is fear a natural response to a situation that anyone would feel and when is it something that you seriously need to deal with? The first incident really freaked me out. I didn't know how much effect it had on me until this morning when I was afraid that these might be the same guys...What also sucks is that each time I've been home alone. It's Jesus and I. I need to learn to trust Him with my life.