Day 30: It happened.

I woke up early this morning and decided to spend a few minutes in prayer before I grabbed my phone and scanned the headlines- something that has consumed a lot more of my hours each day than I'd like to admit.  It felt good to focus my heart on what is true before I was confronted with other peoples' perceptions of reality.  Then, I read the news.  Oh, it was heavy.  The last few days have brought more violence and nerve-wracking possibilities than I was ready for.  Before I even went downstairs to get a cup of coffee (you should never read the news before coffee), my heart was heavy and fearful.  I mentioned that to Scotty and he felt the same way.  I contacted several people I trust to ask for prayer and Scotty and I also prayed before heading off to church.  These days, I am appreciating the local body in new ways as we can band together in uncertain times and remind each other when troubles come of Who is in charge and Who has all the power and dominion.  The mood was so somber when we walked in.  There was palpable tension in the air.  We spent time in prayer, time worshiping and a message reminding us who we are as God's children.  It was refreshing and soul-reviving. 

After church we had some teachers over for lunch.  The kids loved having guests and it was nice to unplug from the news for a bit.  After they left, we saw on the news that our president was about to resign.  What??!!  This was pleasantly unexpected.  Sure enough, 10 minutes later, he and his vice president were on the air announcing both of their resignations.  Oh, the rejoicing!!  The country flooded the streets with celebration- flags, horns, dancing, chanting!  It was beautiful.  It was what I was hoping for on my Day 30 post!

But, it didn't last long.  Texts and news posts dropped immediately warning everyone that until the resignation is accepted by certain leaders in the government, it's not a sure thing.  Now, there are riots and looting happening in certain parts of the city as government supporters react to the news.  Emotions are running high. 

We pray and we ask for God's mercy and we choose to leave ourselves in His hands.  What else can we do?