Stranger Danger

We were sitting at Starbucks today.  (After having participated in a grand engagement scheme with our friends Troy Nolan and Valerie Dickson.)  I noticed an odd man sitting at a nearby table.  What made him seem odd was the way he was watch my children and the children of my friend.  Then I noticed that he pulled out some dollar bills.  CREEPY!!!  Sys, upon noticing that he was offering them out, shyed away and quickly came to my side.  SO proud of her being aware that something was amiss with this situation.  Sadly, our friends son did accept the dollar offer.  I quickly alerted the other moms and we made a grand and rapid exit from the building.  As we were leaving, I noticed that he had on pink lipgloss and that the tube was placed at the far edge of the table, as if to entice our sweet children.  SO SCARY!!!  Glad we go out of there and fast. 

When we go to the car, I took a moment to talk to Sys about the situation and praise her for her actions and reactions and reinforce some of our conversations about strangers and taking things from them.  And I praised her some more.  Before we pulled out of the parking lot, I noticed that he was no longer sitting in Starbucks.  Eww!

As we were getting ready for bed, Sys expressed to me that she was feeling anxious.  She was embarrassed to tell me why she was feeling that way, but I understood that she was well aware of where it stemmed from.  After some comforting and some reassuring, she was able to tell me that it was from our interactions with the creepy guy at Starbucks.  We talked for a long time about the situation and I reassured her that she was safe in our house and that we would probably never see him again.

She was still feeling anxious, even though she mentally was aware that she was safe.  So, I began to pray.  I prayed for peace and calmness for her.  I prayed for God to guide me in how to help my sweet girl.  I prayed for the creepy guy to be healed of his creepyness.  I then prayed slowly from head to foot for my girl.  I could finally feel her relaxing in my arms.  So peaceful and such a clear comforting from God.

Ten minutes later, as she was finishing with her bedtime tasks, she came and told me:

"I just told my mind to put that thought (meaning the thoughts of the creepy guy) in the destroy file, to be burned in the morning.  I don't have the energy  to deal with it today."

I love you Sys!