THE CITY GATES - No fairy tale

When I lived in North Africa with my parents, in the city of Constantine-Algeria, to be exact, times were unstable.It had been a french colony and now the people wanted their autonomy. Constantine sits up in the mountains, at the edge of the Sahara desert, a fortified city with walls and gates.
It was summer and we had been on vacation with friends in the coastal resort of Bône, enjoying the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. On the trip back home, one of our friend's car broke down. We waited there on the side of the road while the men worked under the hood. The sun was going down, everybody was getting nervous. After all, it was civil war. This was not a good place to be sitting.

A military truck and a jeep came by and stopped. They were on their way in, patrolling the road from the coast to Constantine.The soldiers urged us to get back to the city before dark, before the closing of the gates. Once the gates were closed, it was no small thing to get in, if you could get in at all. My father and the other men in our group all worked for an official department and carried official papers. The soldiers agreed to clear the way at the gate with the machine gun clad guards, up in the tower. I remember the uneasy feeling that came on our group once the darkness fell in the hills. Then fear crept in for some of us. Night had come, and it was really dark. We could hear a lot of things, couldn't see anything. Fighting was going on. This was a dangerous place to be.
Eventually the car was fixed and our little caravan started again, making it's way slowly towards the city. At the gates, the guards had been informed and they let us in. We were safe. Everything was okay.THE END - like a fairy tale - all is well that ends well.

Last night, just about 24 hours ago, I had my family on my mind. We are all on the road to the city so to speak. Everybody wants to get there and for everything to be okay. But it's not like my story, once the gates are closed, that's it, can't get in the city. The reality of it is sometimes far from us. This is not a fairy tale. I am just as guilty as the next person in the fact that It seems so far. But every time I pause and get ahold of it, it is anguish to my heart because I am not sure that we'll all get there. I've got to be saved first, my family and friends too and what about all those that I pass here and there? God help me, help us to make our election sure and to get a burden for the lost.

Do you know what I heard at church today? "The Lord is coming soon"