Recuperating

After last week’s robbery things are still in turmoil.  My parents are in the process of fortifying their home with state-of-the-art security.  As I told Lazarus, the gardener, this morning "when you fart around the house the alarm will go off."
Having your private space violated like last week is a sobering experience and we all feel vulnerable.  Our natural tendency is to fall back into old patterns of being.  Distrust is one of them.  Yesterday Lollie, Tayla and I jogged in our neighborhood and we saw four men idling on one of the sidewalks. – My immediate thoughts were seeds of distrust; all four men immediately changed into potential robbers.
This morning during devotions I realized that I have to pray for last week’s robbers – Jesus calls His new community to pray and even bless their enemies!  It is hard for me.  Somehow I know that praying and forgiving will help in dissolving the defense mechanism of distrust.
One of the ways we keep sane in our violence ridden country is humor.  Yesterday a good friend sent me the picture below.  It’s entitled "Johannesburg Playpen".