Do Not Be Anxious

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 

"Do not steal.” “Do not lie.” “Do not deceive one another.” Leviticus 19:11 

An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies. Proverbs 14:5 

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.” Exodus 8:8

Have you ever been pulled aside by a policeman and checked to see if you were part of ISIS? I mean the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The ISIS that was responsible for terrorist or suicide attacks in our country.

Well, I was on 143rd Street in Kansas City, Kansas. I saw all my notebooks containing my writing for my latest book, my rolling suitcase and my rolling backpack slide out of the back of my son-in-law’s SUV. This disturbed me and I became anxious as I slowed and pulled over as far as I could because the road was busy at 8:00 in the morning. I thanked the Lord later because two women also stopped their cars and helped me gather all the items and put them back in the car. I love that He sent them to help me.

I started going to pick up my daughter again and realized since the hatchback was open when I zoomed onto 143rd Street, maybe some things had fallen out on the few blocks before. So, I turned around and checked those streets, but when I came back to 143rd there was a car sitting by the intersection. And - I saw my son-in-law’s gun sitting in the intersection. We had missed it. I became very anxious when the man sitting in the car said he had called the police. I had picked up the gun and gone over to tell him it was mine. He was waiting for the police. I decided I better wait although it was getting late. He was carefully standing with his door over him and his child in the back. And yes, Bo, the dog, was also in my car, but thankfully had never gotten out in all the hustle and bustle.

Ok, I did not lie when the officer started asking questions about why the gun was in the street, whose gun it was and more. I knew I wasn’t guilty of a crime. He said he had orders to check out all weapons found on street property to see if they had been involved in ISIS activity. “Ok” I said, and I don’t think I turned to the Lord about the gun or frogs or anything else. I am sure if I had, I wouldn’t have been so anxious.

Finally, the officer received his information, asked a few more questions and decided he had to let me go on my word and the evidence. My daughter said, “You’re late.” I said, “Let’s go, and I will tell you on the road.” It was funny to her as she knew it was all over and she started laughing. She even called my sister and they laughed together. I started to calm down. She said they hadn’t registered the car yet as they had just purchased it in Texas which could have made my release even more difficult.

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, please help me to remember to talk with you and ask you to be with me when I get in those situations. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck