My Scripture reading yesterday seemed to be all about God being my shield, and since I don’t generally do a blog post on Sundays, I had a whole day to meditate on it.  What does having God as your shield mean?  When I was a child, I used to go into the bathroom and hide from the wrath of my mother.  She didn’t like me very much and made that extremely clear repeatedly.  But when I was in that small guest bathroom, I felt safe and somehow felt loved because I was frequently  chanting to myself, “Yes, Jesus loves me” that I had learned from Sunday school.  I didn’t know the saving power of God at that time or that He could be my shield for the rest of my life.  I discovered that remarkable truth when I was twenty-one, the first year that I left home and that I was alone.  I had left my mother five hours away in another small town in Virginia, but I took my fears with me.  I feared people, the dark, any change in my routine.  So, accepting the Lord set me free from my fears and on the battlefield with Him as my shield.  Yes, life is still a battlefield and sometimes there are explosions that I was not ready for, but as long as I keep God as my shield, I can make it through the attack.  Sometimes the attack comes from my old fears, but I have to make the choice to hold up my shield, to say verses that I have memorized from the Word of God and to know that He is right there with me.  I hope that you have this shield in your life.  He is my Savior and my hope in the middle of all of the strife that takes over at times.  I couldn’t make it without Him and I want everyone to know that He is the One who will protect you from all of the fiery darts of the enemy, no matter what shape they come in.  God bless you during this day and may you find His protective shield covering you!