Using Protection

February 25, 2008 in Uncategorized | No comments

This post was originally published Feb. 13, 2008 and was taken down pending adjudication of another case. Now that has been done and I am restoring the post.

“No more essential duty of government exists than the protection of the lives of its people. Fail in this, and we fail in everything.”
Francis T. Murphy

I am, as we say in this ‘neck of the woods,’ vehicular. That is to say that after many long months of walking/biking/busing my way around this oversized town that thinks it is a city, God (and my father) has seen fit to provide me with a motorized means of transportation. I’ve been thinking about blogging about it and perhaps registering the domain name mygayscootor.org. State government requires a special endorsement to drive one of these things and I got that endorsement yesterday before I picked up the bike. They also recommend a helmet, which I purchased, and struggle to wear based solely on grounds of style.

A few minutes from now I go to be sentenced in the second round (of three) of my probation violation sentencings. Of course, as you have all already observed, I have done the footwork. My spiritual protection is in place. The armies of love and support are at attention. I have enough integrity to play the role and play it humbly. But I’m not out of the woods, of course. It is, after all, government’s duty to protect the lives of it’s people; other people besides me. Which means of course that government may decide, as it has the power to, that the people need protection from me. They may yet decide to send me away. It is not very likely, I think, yet it is a possibility and therefor I have the tiniest bit of fear quivering inside me.

I try to keep in the front of my mind that God is with me whatever happens; that I have the spiritual protection of one who does step work, and that as long as I have placed my trust and reliance on God I have always been taken care of.

Nevertheless, an extra prayer couldn’t hurt.