I had just returned to my vehicle after shopping at a local store. It was a hot summer day, and I decided to take advantage of my shady parking spot for a little break and a snack. In those few moments I was to participate in an intense scene that required prayerful attention.
A man wearing battle-fatigues and carrying a large automatic rifle, loosely draped in a camouflage cloth, got out of a nearby SUV. He stormed toward the store with a determined, angry look on his face, aggressively dragging a little girl with him.
If I’d had a cell phone, my first reaction would’ve been to call the police. So I did the only thing I could do; I prayed. I asked God how I should think about this situation and got an immediate answer: See everyone in the store, including the man with the weapon, as part of God’s creation, included in His care. The first chapter of Genesis states that everything God made is “very good” (verse 31), so everyone involved in this situation was therefore good. I focused on trying to see the situation as God saw it.
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