Guard

I'm a nerd. A Star Wars nerd, to be exact. Turn on an episode and I'm there, sitting on the floor cross-legged, eyes glued to the screen. I've seen them all a few times (except the old ones... I have them pretty much memorized), but cannot get enough of them. When I was kid, Darth Vader was super scary. And his stormtroopers were almost just as scary (for those who don't know what that is, they were dressed in white armor and thankfully couldn't shoot the broadside of anything). It was a never-ending fight between good and evil. And when the end did come (just this past December, with the very last episode), I cried. Yep, there's the nerd.

It all started with my crush on Luke Skywalker as a kid, and ended in the most amazing way, sacrificing oneself for another. The amazing part about it was the constant struggle the characters went through. With enticements to turn to both sides, they had to guard their hearts from the conflict within themselves. Good was enticed to the power of the dark, and evil was fighting against the light that was burning inside. It looked like evil was going to prevail, and then the great switch happened. The guarded heart of darkness gave in to the light. I wiped my tears with a sigh of relief, so glad it ended the way I thought it should: the good side won.

Paul said in Philippians, chapter 4, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I'm so thankful for that verse, that reminder. We do not have to guard our hearts by ourselves. The Creator of the universe stands guard, keeping the dark from getting in. And not only that, but He gives us peace, a calming that we are forgiven and loved. A cherished part of His family. With God, the good side will always win.

"He will guard the feet of his faithful servants, but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness."   1 Samuel 2:9