Personal Question from Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman-p.86

Has God ever allowed threat of trouble in your life to drive you to your knees? If so, what did you learn through the experience?

Pondering this question a memory flashed into my mind:

I was expecting my third child and living in our newly purchased townhouse. The children were almost four and almost two. One day as the children happily and joyfully scampered to the nearby playground with me lagging slightly behind a large man jumped out from behind a bush. He grabbed each child in a “football hold”, ran quickly to a waiting car, and jumped onto the back seat with my two children. The car sped down the street away from me with me screaming bloody murder after my children. Help!! Stop!!
I screamed! Running running!! knowing there was no way to catch the fast disappearing car...

Then I woke up! How awful! Go check on my children... they were there... sleeping peacefully like cherubic angels. Oh my heart! Oh my relief!

The vividness of the dream followed me into my daytime wakefulness. I had overcome my agoraphobia problems several years earlier. Yet this dream could put me right back into terror of leaving my home. Was I safe? How could I protect my children? I prayed and worried and studied God's Word while trying to calm my fearful heart. Finally after several days of worry. The words from the bible:
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Prov. 3: 6 acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Isa. 58: 11 Lord shall guide thee continually.

Took on new meaning and answered my prayers. If I sought God's guidance then if there was a day when my children were in danger then surely that would be the day that I would be guided to not go to the playground.

I felt comforted and less afraid. I also remembered when:

My first born toddler had escaped our apartment barefoot and decided to go to the swings. As soon as I noticed the open door (a matter of minutes) I raced out the door seeking him. There was broken glass all over the sidewalk just outside our door (a normal happening in the Government Housing Complex we lived in then) I saw him swinging on his belly on the swing. His little legs were too short to climb up and sit down on his own. I raced madly to him. Grabbed his little feet in my hands with great fear, at the same time noticing all the new broken glass around the graveled square that made up this “play ground”. Not a scratch, cut, abrasion on his feet anywhere!!! And he had crossed a road in which cars tended to speed recklessly down.

We lived in the G.H.C for several years while we saved money to buy our first home. We were kept protected and safe the entire time we lived there. (During that time my husband worked shift work. A rapist somehow acquired a work roster and raped wives of husbands who worked at night or were away on military assignment.) We routinely heard gunshots, and heard or saw vicious fighting between gang members.

Another time when driving to the grocery store I was prompted to change lanes thereby avoiding a terrible car crash that killed several people.

I learned through these experiences the Lord could and would protect me if I sought his will in my life.