The Mind Controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace

Okay, I was really thrown off tonight. I had no clue what went wrong.

We were walking home from the grocery store and decided to take the overpass so we wouldn't have to cross the busy street with the kids. Brett and Emma made it over before Matthew and I did. I was holding Matthew's hand and carrying two small back packs as we were working our way down the wet steps. We were about half way down when the policeman at the bottom started waving his arms, saying things I didn't understand. We assume he wanted us to hurry. I did my best with Matthew, but like I said, we were carrying a small load, Matthew is a four year old and the steps and railings were wet.

We were pretty calm until I saw the policeman pull out his gun. I was dumbfounded, didn't know what was going on. He was still yelling, Brett said he was blowing his whistle, but honestly I drew a blank when I saw the gun. He did NOT point it at us, just took it out while he was yelling at us. Matthew and I were the only people on the steps, the only ones near the policeman. We made it to the bottom and kept moving without a word.

I was shaken to say the least. Racked my brain to figure out what just happened. It was a public walkway, we weren't doing anything but walking slow...the pace of a four year old working his way down the steps. We just didn't get it....it didn't make any sense.

Matthew keeps saying the policeman had a water gun. It's hard to explain to him what happened, to both of the kids for that matter. How can we explain to them when we don't understand what happened.

Racking my brain as to what got the policeman so upset, I started to search on Thai law in the internet. Found out much about the Thai police. What I did wrong was not jump when he said jump. Something got him edgy and he wanted us to move and we didn't do it fast enough. There are many reports that say the Thai police are easily agitated. There is an overwhelming amount of information on the Thai police, something key to remember is that no matter what, we are supposed to comply to their request with a humble smile and apologise if they look as if we have wronged them. There are laws in place, it's just that the officers are under paid and do as they see fit, with no real structure to answer to.

It is hard to explain this to the children, we have always taught them police were safe, to be trusted. The whole gun thing really tripped us up. Bottom line, I am thankful for God's provision in looking out for us in my ignorance. Often when we go to a new culture, much of what we see doesn't makes sense, often irrational. One constant is knowing that God is in control and this is what gives us great peace when it's all said and done.

"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace" Romans 8:6