Midnight Disturbance

Sometimes living alone can be scary...

I always lock my door when I leave my apartment. Always. So, I was really surprised and a bit shaken when I returned home one evening a few weeks ago and realized my door was unlocked (totally not realizing that I'd left it that way). I found myself gingerly walking inside, leaving the door open before checking to make sure no one was hiding inside any of the cabinets/loft/bathroom. It was kind of scary... but then I saw that I had some cash still lying on my desk and realized that it wouldn't still be there if someone had tried to break in. So, thankfully, everything was fine and my apartment was left undisturbed. Even so, it took me a little time to settle down.

Sometime around 12:30 that same night, I woke up from a lovely, peaceful sleep with a jolt. The door handle on my apartment door was clearly jiggling and I heard someone trying to punch in the numbers to get in - unsuccessfully, thankfully! I was so extremely disturbed and found myself panicking and praying at once (not quite sure how that combination works theologically...).

I have a nice function in my apartment that allows me to see who is outside of my door. So I very carefully checked the camera to see if someone was indeed outside. I was horrified when I saw that there definitely was a Korean MAN attempting to get into my apartment! I had no idea what to do - screaming didn't even come to my mind as an option. I pressed all the buttons I could and heard some kind of alarm going off. I'm not sure if it scared him away or not, but I kept watching him through the camera, praying for God's protection. Then I noticed him look up. He must have finally realized that he had the wrong door. He left quickly and within seconds I heard my neighbor's door open and close. With incredible relief (and anger at the same time), I realized that it had been my neighbor - drunk and trying to get into the wrong room.

Needless to say, I couldn't get back to sleep right away. I'm pretty sure I was shaking for awhile...

Even though I realized it had been completely unintentional, just the thought of it all had really scared me. It took a lot of praying and singing softly until I could settle down. At some point, the Lord gave me peace to sleep, helping me realize that He is my GATEKEEPER and Protector. Twice in the same day, He protected me and my apartment. Even though I'd left it unlocked all day, He stood guard and protected everything. Then, even though someone had seemingly tried to break in, he continued to keep me safe. The following promise allowed me to finally settle down, knowing that He was guarding and protecting me.

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8