WHEN I WAS A SMALL GIRL, I loved to go to a vacation Bible school each summer at the Norwegian Lutheran Church. It wasn't all just fun; sometimes I learned something valuable. One year, our teacher told us that if we were ever in a fearful situation, we should say, "But God is here, too." We should remember that God's presence changes everything, she said, because God won't let the "bad" hurt us.
In my early years thereafter, I often relied upon this simple teaching. I began to be conscious of God's quiet presence with us and knew His power was here, too. When I held to this truth, many things changed for the better in my life. When I was a young teenager, my family moved from a city to a small town. While most of my new schoolmates were friendly and accepted me, I began receiving threatening notes telling me to go back to where I came from, or else! One note even said my face would be cut.
I fell back upon my simple but sincere trust in God's presence and power; but I was still very frightened, even of going to school. So I asked God to tell me what to do and to save me from whoever was sending those notes.
