It was a Saturday, like all Saturday’s in 1988. A day off from work, I was working around the house to the sound of cartoons on the TV as little Dave, 4, was intent on Ghostbusters. That song is forever etched into my memory as it was a real favorite. He sat on the floor in the living room in front of the TV, his mind being filled with successful attempts of scientists combating the ghosts with a backpack designed to capture these beings with an energy proton pack and they carried some kind of wand in their hands. He would get so involved that he would physically get up and act out what the Ghostbusters were doing. He literally became a Ghostbuster.
Dave would watch these over and over again on tape, and had all of the confidence in the world that he, himself, was a full-fledged, award winning, image of the real ghostbuster on TV. No question in his mind that he and the world knew that he was a Ghostbuster.
I have always been known to roam around the house without turning on lights for some reason. The kitchen was cleaned, now I’m going to go to the cellar to put in a load of laundry. There was always a pile in the middle of the cellar floor because we had a 2-story laundry chute from the second floor that would dump the clothes in a big pile. Down I go. It wasn’t too dark because there were cement block windows around the perimeter of the basement that let in just enough light for me to work. In the dimness, I dug into the pile of laundry to separate dark from white, and all of a sudden, I felt something slither itself around my leg and then let go. EEEK! I jumped about 4 feet off the ground, bounded up the 13 or 14 steps in what seemed to be one leap, locked the basement door, grabbed David from the living room , and ran outside onto the front sidewalk to wait for my husband to come home from errands.
That thing must have been as tall as my knee, at least, didn’t make any noise, seemed to slither around, and had a long enough tail to wrap it around my leg! Oh my gosh! It would take an act of Congress to get me to go back into that house again, much less to go back into the cellar. I wanted to move.
My husband came home soon after we went outside, heard the story, and set his mind on a purpose to go down into the unknown. David was chomping at the bit to be of assistance. He ran up to his bedroom and came back down 5 minutes later outfitted in an original ghostbuster outfit, with backpack and wand that was sure to capture any beings that shouldn’t be in our home!
I remember the story of another young David, centuries before 1988, that King Saul had outfitted with his own armor for little shepherd boy, David, to go to battle with a giant nine-foot Goliath. The calls that the TV announcers must have had about that particular battle were Goliath 1, David 0. The King’s armor made up of a bronze helmet and a coat of mail with a sword strapped over it was so big on him that David just took it off after only taking a few steps, flung it aside, and went into battle with the Giant with his own sling shot, his shepherd’s staff and 5 smooth stones that he picked up from the stream. He had as much confidence in those pieces of equipment because he wasn’t running on his own power, he was viewing the Giant from God’s perspective. He knew he would not be alone when he faced Goliath, God would fight with him.
Young King David shouted to his opponent ‘You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel- the very God whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you and I will kill you and cut off your head; and then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the girds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And Israel will learn that the Lord does not depend on weapons to fulfill his plans – He works without regard to human means! He will give you to us! As Goliath approached, David ran out to meet him. And reaching into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine Giant in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground. So, David conquered the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone.’ 1 Samuel 17
We never know when we wake up in the morning what each day will bring. We are told that we are to cast all of our cares upon the Lord because he cares for us. There are some things in our days that we can control, but as we rise each day and get dressed, there is one thing that we shouldn’t forget – the full armor of God that He has given to us.
Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us “Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.
And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so, you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness (God’s approval) as your chest plate, and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Everything worked out fine on that Saturday in 1988. It turned out to be a rat that had somehow come up from the sewer. I’m shivering just thinking about it. It was captured, and I never saw it; and I never went down to do laundry without the light on again. It’s the light that makes all of the difference. The light not only allows us to see what we’re doing, but light also is shed into our minds and heart so that we can’t see the darkness.
May you be blessed and outfitted today,
Candy
Musings from Candy 