We are safely back in Danang (well, five of us are--but I'll get to that in a minute). One of the reasons the girls and I made this trip to DaLat and Phnom Penh with Tony is that, had we stayed in Danang, Tony would have been absent from our family for over three weeks! Up until the last 3 days when Elizabeth was sick and we were holed up in the hotel room with nursing duties, we had tried to take advantage of seeing a few of the sites together and doing some fun things with the girls.
Duc and Linh (and their baby Sally, age 2) made the trip back with me, Jillian, Elizabeth, Faith and Joy. Tony, Anna Mei, Marissa and Enoch stayed in Phnom Penh to try to recover some of the information we lost when Enoch and Marissa's computer was stolen. So, they will be working there a few days longer.
One thing we did in Phnom Penh was to visit a park-like area where there are "wild" monkeys. I say "wild" because they are not caged, or chained. However, that is about all I can say regarding them that is "wild".They are actually quite docile, towards humans though not always toward each other. Vendors at the park sell bunches of small bananas and lotus pods that you can feed the little creatures. They will take the fool right out of your hand. It was quite a treat for the girls. Just as we were leaving, I saw what I thought was a flock of birds flying to a particular tree. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were bats. Sure enough, they flew to a tree that had no foliage at the top and there they hung, upside down. Creepy, says I. Fascinating, say my five little companions.
Those monkeys got me to thinking about the devil. Sometimes I feel like he is monkeying with me! While we were in Cambodia, I had put my cellphone in a back pack because the phone doesn't work there and I didn't want to forget it when we left. Unfortunately, I forgot that it was in the backpack when I let Duc check it with the luggage at the Saigon airport. Of course, the phone was stolen enroute to Danang. It made me so angry. I almost said bad words. (not really) I just felt like that old slewfoot was trying to monkey around with my life again.
He monkeys with my attitudes.
He monkeys with the health of our children.
He monkeys with our finances, our possessions, and our tools.
The question is why? He is defeated. He cannot win. He cannot disrupt my eternal destiny. Jesus told us why--he comes to steal, kill and destroy. It's who he is and what he does. .So, at least for now, I'm not going to be his lackey and react in dismay or despair or disillusionment, or disappointment, or discouragement. No sirree! I'm getting that monkey off my back. My heart is centered, my eyes are focused, my course is set. Thanks be to God, who is our victory!
May your day be free from monkey business!
