safe

Yesterday, as I moved around my house, putting up christmas lights and festive decorations, a steady rain fell outside.  I was dry and cozy inside our little house, feeling happy and safe.  

I began thinking about that word.  Safe.

We spend so much time worrying about safety.

Parents childproof their homes, fence in the yard, and drive their kids around the neighborhood on Halloween.  We create safe havens and shelters to raise our families in and cozy spaces to spend time together.  We want our kids to feel safe and secure.  As adults, we even want ourselves to feel safe as well.  We have car alarms, security systems, savings accounts, first aid kits, bottled water, canned food, fire extinguishers, and even weapons to somehow create a feeling of security in this unsure world.

Then something happens to remind us that we are not safe.  No matter how hard we try to prevent horrible things or ignore what could happen, inevitably the worst thing imaginable does in fact happen.  Places that were once safe are no longer,  places that were comforting are terrifying, and places of refuge are now places to avoid.

Can you recreate the feeling of safety?  Can anyplace really be made invincible against the scary forces of man or nature?  Or is safe and secure really just a facade that we create for the sake of our children while we as adults shoulder the burden of fear.  The fear of what could happen, what might happen, if we are not careful or if we let down our guard for a moment.  

Bad people do horrible things in places where we feel safe, hurricanes knock at our front door, nature sends its brutal force to remind us that no matter how much we prepare, how much we tell ourselves that we are safe, there is always a chance, a window of opportunity, to remind us that we are not.  

Not always.