Put Your Hands Over Your Head!

At 1:15 AM today, Beth rushed into our bedroom. "Dad! Mom! There are people in our backyard running around with flashlights yelling." We hopped out of bed and I grabbed the large Mag-Lite I keep by our bed. (It's worth pointing out here that the dog was in our room and didn't budge an inch.)

We hurried downstairs to see there were three men on our deck. Everything was happening quickly and I was still trying to wake up. I saw that the man closest to our back door was in a sheriff's uniform, and I started to open the door. He held up his hand and said something about a bear. "Ooo!" I thought. "There's a bear in our backyard." And I wanted to come out and see. It turns out he was saying "Bear with us," but I wasn't alert enough to figure it out yet.

Then I got a good look at the other guys on the deck. One was in a sheriff's uniform and he was cuffing the other guy. I woke up very quickly at this point! The first officer indicated that he wanted us to stay in the house and keep the door closed until he was ready for us.

After they took the one guy away, the first officer asked to step inside. He was out of breath, but informed us that there had been a pursuit. The suspect was hiding up on our deck, and he apologized that he didn't have time to contact us and notify us of what was happening. He confirmed our address so that he knew where to have a car come and pick up the guy in custody, thanked us, and headed out into the night.

Needless to say, our adreneline was pumping and it wasn't easy to get back to sleep. I found myself laying awake thinking through all the lessons we learned back in Arizona after our house had been burglarized. I also wondered why we have been so relaxed about security here. Have we been lulled into complacency by the southern charm of Virginia and the country lifestyle of our new community? I don't know. But I do know that there are some changes coming to our home this week, including outdoor security lights and activating our alarm system.

I'm also going to remember to pray more faithfully for our local law inforcement. These guys are out there doing an important and often dangerous job on our behalf, and I really appreciate them.