I Drove Our Car Into Our Pond…

The air was crisp and the bonfire glowed in the night. Embers rose in the air and the scent of burning wood and leaves we all know and love was in the air. Brandon and I had just had day 2 of difficult talks regarding family matters (not our own, thankfully), and were hopeful that we were finally going to move on. 

My friend and I were texting about where to meet up for our Discipleship Group since another group member had to stay home and watch her son who may have gotten a concussion. We decided on Starbucks and I was running out the door to meet her when I realized I left something in the house. I quickly ran in to get it. As I got back in the car and turned on the engine, I looked up and realized I had left the door from the garage to our house open. Brandon had all the kids outside at our bonfire pit, so I quick put the car in Park (or so I thought) and ran up the stairs. As I returned, I realized I hadn't put the car in park, or perhaps I just hadn't pulled the e-brake all the way up (our driveway is on a slight hill) and slowly, then a tad more quickly, the car reversed down the hill.

I immediately ran after it but then Brandon yelled “NOOO. Stop!” I hesitated and looked at him before starting to run again; but again he shouted “Stop! You'll just get run over and that'll be far worse." He was right. I wasn't going to make it. So, I stopped, hoping the car would hit our huge River Oak Tree or the stones that surrounded it, and halt the car. But the car went right past both, as though it had only one destination in mind.

And the whole family watched as the car Brandon and I bought as newlyweds of merely 3 weeks, having just barely moved to Portland, Oregon, the car we brought Gideon home in from the hospital. The car that made the cross country trips between Ohio, Oregon and Georgia. That car went down, down, down into the murky pond water.

Herman the Honda, was gone. 

What I find interesting is that of all the difficulty that came with drowning my car, that was actually one of the easier parts of the week. There was this persistent difficulty that kept nagging. Like a mosquito that won't die and you keep trying to hit, but somehow it keeps attacking and biting and you can't figure out how you haven't managed to stop it. This issue continued to come up, over and over again, one we would pray over, discuss and give to the Lord. We'd think that it was dealt with and then BAM something would come up again. At one point, I sensed from the Holy Spirit that there was an invitation to pray about the situation - specifically the person- differently than I/we had been. So I/we did. Relief came, but then again something came up, hitting the most vulnerable parts of Brandon and I causing dissension and argument. So again we talked through it and we prayed. Then it hit me: this is spiritual warfare. I'm not saying the car issue was. That was me not paying attention and what happens when someone is rushing. But this other problem we were dealing with was more than simply a relational issue. That was part of the issue, but not the whole story. We were focusing on flesh and blood, but what we needed to do was seek God’s help differently. (Ephesians 6:12)

In the same week that we lost our car, I was in the process of booking a client for Grace & Cherish Interiors, we had an inquiry from someone to host a staff retreat at Philo (one of my hopes for this place!!), and we were preparing to host one of our favorite organizations in the ATL - Beloved, which is an anti-sex trafficking organization. These were answers to prayer, and they all came flooding in the same week I was so distracted by the other issue looming over us. Accident? I think not. 

If you think about a fire and the rapidness with which a single flame can quickly become so forceful that it requires the help of firemen and women to contain, that is in some ways what it felt like this week. Something that seemed small quickly engulfed our conversations and threatened the unity of our marriage. I don’t want to say that our own flesh didn’t play a role, it did. But I also think we need to be aware when we need to fight differently through prayer, fasting or however else the Lord may lead. We need to not pretend that there aren’t real spiritual forces at work against the people of God. This isn’t to cause fear (because we have no need of it - 2 Timothy 1:7), but to encourage us to press into the Lord and attune our ears to the Holy Spirit all the more.

The Mission here at Philo is about the Kingdom. We believe God is worthy of all of our lives and we want to not just provide a place but provide one that seeks to glorify Him in all things. We aren't doing anything revolutionary, that's not the point. We are just trying to be obedient, and I find that it's obedience, faithfulness, actions done from places of love for God's glory, it is those that are attacked. And so, I want to encourage you. As you seek to be a person of hospitality, as you seek to be a faithful disciple of Jesus, please remember that your acts of faithfulness are threatening to the kingdom of darkness. You are invited to partner with God, joining Him in creating beauty and hope and spreading Light within your own home and communities. This is a threat, therefore there will be struggle, Jesus promises us that (John 16:33). But there is also the hope and the reality of His overcoming. Your overcoming is intimately connected to His overcoming. And if we believe that He did indeed rise from the dead and is certainly seated at the right hand of the Father, if you believe that Jesus will come back one day, then you can also move joyously through the struggles, attacks, and whatever else comes because your overcoming is assured by, and through, Jesus our Savior. Amen?

 Amen.

Onward in hope my friends.

Until next time,

Alexa