Security systems are a big business, meant to keep everyone safe in our unsafe world. These security system companies supply cameras, database systems, alarms and even armed guards to homes, businesses and schools.

Just at my little rural school, the front door is kept locked and visitors are required to ring the doorbell. The secretary then looks to see who is at the door and they may or may be allowed to enter. Once inside, their identity is verified with a computerized database. Then and only then are they allowed to do whatever business they came to do, but they will be watched. Our hallways are lined with security cameras.  

Safe

Some of my earliest memories are those of lying down with a picture book behind our cumbersome green wool couch. There was just enough room for my little four or five year old body to squeeze between that sofa and the living room wall. I’d inch my way into what felt like the only safe and secret space, away from the noise and busyness of the household I grew up in. With six siblings, someone was always coming or going, arguing or negotiating, whining or crying. 

When I grew older and too big to crawl behind a piece of furniture, I found a different sheltered place; the linen closet. By the time I was ten or eleven years old, we’d moved to a bigger house, one that had a small room where Mom stored the wool blankets and extra bedding. When the noise level in the household rose too high, when I needed seclusion to cry, or solitude to sort out my thoughts, I’d go into the linen closet and close the door. Mom also stored her cedar chest in that room giving me a flat surface to lie down upon. Sometimes I’d simply fall asleep lulled by the smell of wool, the warmth of the sun shining through the little window and feeling safely secured. 

After my father’s death, the cemetery where he was buried became a sheltered sanctuary. In the company of the summer sun, green grass, headstones and scrubby pine trees, I’d sit beside his grave remembering the sound of his voice and the comfort and security I’d always felt in his presence. 

Now, I no longer look for secret and safe hiding places. Since accepting Jesus’ personal invitation for a relationship, I am now confident that no matter where I go, God is with me. 

Wherever I am, God is present. I am never alone even when alone.

Why bother with security? I am not exempt from any of the real or imagined dangers of the world I live in, but I know that my Safeguard is with me wherever I go.