Memorial Box Monday: The Stalker

It’s Monday and ya’ know what that means?
It’s time for a glimpse into our Memorial Box for another story, another reminder of God’s every day working in our lives and a fresh reminder of His complete faithfulness. I first told this story two years ago, but it is one of  my personal favorites.I’ve tweaked it since last time….so don’t skip over it if you’ve heard it before.
Besides, the Lord tells us to tell them over and over and over and over again!
It is a story that reminds our family of God’s protective covering over us.
I’ve opened up several times in the past about struggling with fear over my life.  I have written about the chains that fear produces.  The chains that entangle and keep us where we are.
Once upon a time, I was debilitated by fear.   But then I was finally{!} set free! This particular story came at a time in my life when I had the opportunity to pick up that fear again {after 20 years free from fear} and live entangled by the chains of fear once again.
I have gotten quite a few emails over the years that many of you, also, have struggled or currently struggle with fear.  I felt like the Lord wanted me to share some other things I have done to combat fear.  I’ll do that after telling the story.
In 2004, when we accepted the pastorate in Colorado we were so excited! We had never lived out West and we couldn’t wait. This was going to be a wonderful chapter in our lives and we were all thrilled.

 Our first Sunday in Durango we had “church in the park” so we could worship and eat together – a great way to get to know the people we had come to pastor. After many of the people had left I was talking to one woman. I noticed a man under the pavilion exhibiting very odd behavior. He never saw me watching him, but I was keeping my eye on him. I didn’t know him, had never seen him before, but he certainly was displaying unusual behavior.

After awhile I saw him get up, appearing to leave. He had had his back to me the entire time, so he had never seen me watching him at all. I watched him walking away and all of a sudden he turned toward me and his eyes locked with mine and he puckered his lips and smacked a kiss to me. My eyes bugged out of my head!! This man, whom I had never seen before had just gestured a kiss to me! UGH! I was so grossed out!
I went to find one of the staff pastors and ask who he was.  He told me the man’s name (which really, even his name was really, really creepy, promise! – If I told you, you would get the shivers!) He went on to tell me that he was a “mountain man” who lived in the mountains, living off the land and would come down on occasion to attend church. About this time I learned from one of our elder’s wives that this man had had a dream and in the dream he had seen his future wife, who was going to go back to the mountains with him – he had told this elder’s wife that I looked just like his future wife in that dream.
Shiverly creepy!Immediately upon him gesturing me a kiss the Lord spoke to my heart: “Beware! Keep your eyes open! He will be back.”
When the Lord gives a warning –
we must take it seriously!!
A few days later I was at home with the kids. I had just talked to Dw, who was out making a call on some people from our church. I told Dw that I felt something was going on in the supernatural and I needed him to pray with me. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I just knew something was very, very wrong and I needed Dw to pray with me for our protection.In hind sight, this was not a normal thing for me to say, but within minutes I knew that indeed, there was a battle raging in the heavenlies!
 After Dw and I hung up from praying together and I went to work making dinner in the parsonage kitchen where we lived. All of a sudden, Emma came dashing into the kitchen where I was working.  She jerked my arm with all her might and yanked me around.
It was so completely out of character for her, I turned wide-eyed to see her face….her eyes were wide and her face was white! She whispered to me, “Mom, there is a man in our house!” I ran with her to find a man standing in our home.The same man from the picnic!!The look on his face I will never forget. Our guess is that he thought he would find me home alone. We believe that he was either intent on raping me or carrying me off to live with him in the mountains.

BUT I am certain that all our children present took him by surprise.

He starting mumbling some things. Now, sweet bloggy friends, the Multiple Sclerosis had not yet had a healing touch from the Lord, and under extreme stress my legs and arms would just shut down and I would fall on the floor.I needed the Lord’s touch at that moment!  Instantly God’s courage rose up within me and with strength that would only come from Him, I ordered the man to “get out of our home NOW!”
He stood looking around and mumbling things that didn’t completely make sense. I told him again that he had to go. He didn’t budge. He was looking around and I had the courage to stand my ground. Truly, one of the scariest times of my life!!
I knew I had to protect my children and I had no clue what he was going to do. After ordering him out of our home multiple times he turned and went down the stairs to leave. Finally he stepped outside.
Through the glass on the side of the front door, I was able to see that once outside he instantly turned around and reached for the door handle again.

But stopped.

Then he stood hunched over, running both of his hands through his hair while staring at the doorknob. It looked like he was trying to decide if he should come back in. My legs were trembling and I knew that if I tried the stairs I would fall. I waited till he had turned to go and whispered for Emma to run down and lock the door. She did it in a flash.

To make a long story short, the next day he was back again.  He was insistent that he was going to see me. Soon I was able to get a temporary protective order.

Eventually I had a court date and The Stalker stood just feet from me. I trembled from the MS anyway, but really, my entire body shook.
When the judge heard our case, I had to go up with the aid of my cane to stand before him. The judge had The Stalker come up to present his information.  The Stalker wanted to know from the judge when the Permanent Protective Order would end. He also told the judge that he wanted to talk to me.
He insisted on knowing when the Permanent Protective would end so we could talk again.   The judge repeated that it was Permanent. The man continued to question the judge as to when it would end. The Stalker went on to explain to the judge that he had been investigating Permanent Protective Orders and had learned that PPOs in California {supposedly} are only good for seven years. After the hearing, I walked out of the courtroom with my Permanent Protective Order.
Friends, I was presented with a choice that day.  I could choose to trust Almighty God or live in fear of this man who had obviously been sent by the enemy of my soul to strike fear in me anew.
What would I do? It would have been easy to cave to fear. A stalker who has the boldness to come inside your home is a serious threat!!  BUT God!!!
God came to set every one of us free from fear.  He came so that we all could live without chains. I refuse to go back to living in chains.  No doubt, the enemy did not want me to have an effective ministry in our new city.
BUT remember my verse?  “It was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to this yoke of slavery.”  Galatians 5:1  So how do we practically live free from fear? One way is to cast our cares on Him – continually. We must talk to Him about our cares.
The other thing we MUST do is to fill our hearts and minds with God’s promises by memorizing scripture. I posted verses all over our home.  E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.
When I got ready in the morning, there was a verse on the bathroom mirror.
On our closet door.
There was a verse above the toilet tissue holder.
When I stood and did laundry, yup, another verse.
Above the kitchen sink.
 On the refrigerator.

 

On the walls, on the doors, on the mirrors, everywhere!!
God’s word is our weapon to fight back!!
His promises stand forever.
In fact His word says,  “Though the grass withers and the flowers fade, His word abides FOREVER!”
Our minds have to be saturated with His promises.

 As I reflect on what God did during that season, I am reminded of His faithful protection.  He warned me when I first saw the man.  He warned me with the urgency to pray with Dw just moments before he entered our home.

He gave me the courage to order the man out,  time after time, until he left.  He protected the next day.
He allowed the judge to grant both the temporary and eventually the Permanent Protective Order.
How faithful He had been each step of the way.  He once again showed Himself to me as my Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God! How I praise His name!!
There is no doubt that the God of the universe has a plan for each of our lives. And there is no doubt that the enemy of our souls has a plan as well….to enslave us in fear, unforgiveness, discontentment, anger, bitterness, resentment, etc.
 However, we do have a choice.  We can live in freedom or not. We can surrender to God’s plan or not. He lets us decide.
Inside our Memorial Box was a copy of the Permanent Protective Order.

7 thoughts on “Memorial Box Monday: The Stalker

  1. Oh Linny! I identify with this story so completely. I also had a stalker at a former job. I was helpful to this man as he claimed to be hearing disabled. My employement was working for a temporary agency hiring and placing people in jobs. I saw this man often as he came looking for work. It was only a matter of weeks when he told me that I was his rightful wife as ordained by god. I informed him that was not the case and I was in a relationship and would not be entertaining this conversation any longer. He started dropping off letters and creepy poetry, I too, got a PPO order…the temporary one and he attempted to challenge it at every stop…standing outside my work jumping up and down to get my attention…hollering at open windows while maintaining the 100 feet rule. When the PPO order was due to expire, I quit my job and took another one elsewhere…I thank god that he did not know my last name and found out that he had done this to many and eventually served prison time for aggravated stalking. It is hard to cast my fears to god, but I am trying and so far, he is helping:)
    Sorry for the long comment…I do not have a blog.

  2. I am so sorry that you were subject to this kind of fear… I can understand with seven years being up now, into 2012… but I wanted to share with you what I read in Adeye's post yesterday… it is God's sovereignity…

    I am so excited to begin a new chapter in my life. I have a heart of expectation to see what God has in store for my family in the months and years to come. My prayer is that I will always be able to graciously accept to walk the paths that He has already chosen for me. Chuck Swindoll once said, "Nothing passes through our hands without first passing through the hands of a loving Father." I love that.

    All things must pass through the hands of our God before it reaches us. I pray that I never forget that–in the good times, and the not-so-good. It took me until the latter part of my thirties to finally understand His sovereignty…but I think I get it now.

    Not easy to do, but we have to believe that because we invited Him into our lives and He is Lord of our lives, then He is into every detail of our lives before it ever happened.

    We may not understand, and He asks us not to understand… but He does ask us to TRUST Him…

    "trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding… in all thine ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thine paths."

    Be strong, sister 🙂 you already are! 🙂 He loves you soooooooo much! 🙂

  3. wow, what a story!
    you're right it is a choise, and I need to get better at making it and standing! really needed this today it was so timely, thanks for sharing it xxx

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