What Would YOU Do?

         Recently God has been showing me that He's everywhere. One of the coolest verses I know of is Psalm 139, which reads: "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You, Lord, know it completely.You hem me in behind and before, and You lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
        This passage came to mind recently with some things that I have gone through. One particular instance where these verses were applicable was around two weeks before school ended. I've told this story to some people, but it's just too memorable to not include with this verse topic. This following story is completely true and, in the words of Mr. Seamands, I embellish nothing. :)
        A popular show on ABC is a show called "What Would You Do". This program is a show where the producers set up controversial situations in public places to see what people would do if placed in that situation. Hired actors and actresses head these situations and work with the random passerby to show to the hidden cameras what the public would do. If you haven't seen this show, I would suggest it. I love it because it makes me think about how I have to be prepared with my morals and actions if a controversial situation like those on the show ever came up. I always kind of hoped a situation like the ones on the show would happen to me... Well, I guess one of the morals here is "be careful what you wish for"...
       A few weeks before my junior year ended, I went to see the movie "Dark Shadows" with my good friend. (Quick side note here: if Tim Burton films give you the willies like they do for me, don't go see this movie. It was terribly dark and scary.) We went to the Fayette Mall Theater, paid for our tickets, found out theater, and sat in really good seats! About halfway through the movie, I had to use the bathroom. I told my friend where I was headed, took my phone, and made my way out of our row. Now if you know anything about the setup of a movie theater, you know that there is the main part (with the seats and the screen), a hallway that leads from that main part to the lobby, and there's the lobby. So to get to the bathroom, I went down the stairs, through the hallway, and started to open the door to the lobby. Turns out, there was a guy trying to open the door to get in while I was opening the door to get out.
      Naturally, it was awkward trying to open the door with him struggling to do the same on the other side, so when I stepped out I said "Oops! 'Scuse me," to the guy. From what I could see, he looked like your average movie goer holding a bag of popcorn. I expected him to say something along the lines of "No, it's totally fine! Go right ahead!" Instead, I got a creepy stare. I shook his reaction off and started to walk towards the bathroom. Even though I was walking away from the creepy staring man, I still felt like there was someone following me... Just to be safe, I ran to the bathroom and quick shut the door to a stall towards the back of the room. I did my business and got ready to flush when I heard the bathroom door open. I thought it was odd that I didn't hear whoever it was come in to a stall or even use the sink! It was such a strange occurrence that I couldn't help but peek out and see who was in the bathroom.
      I opened my stall door, peeked out, and who do I see? THE CREEPY STARING MAN FROM THE THEATER DOOR! He had stalked me into the women's bathroom and was standing between me and the door! I couldn't believe it. I slammed shut my stall door and got into the corner next to the toilet. What do you do at this point?! I tried texting my friend who was still leisurely sitting in the theater enjoying the movie, but her phone was turned off. I was shaking and hyperventilating. Surely THIS was the end.
      Luckily two older women came in and ran the stalker off. They thought he had just accidentally popped into the women's bathroom. I came out and explained what had really happened with the man to them and they agreed to help me out in getting away from him. When the coast was clear, I went back to my theater. I opened the door, stepped into the hallway and who do I see? The stalker man waiting for me! In my theater! I was shocked. What was up with this guy?!
     I sprinted out into the lobby. What do I do? Where could I go? I felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone... "There's no way out!!!" After much deliberation, I decided to go to the candy counter guys. One was a good foot taller and much thicker than the other. He agreed to help me back to my theater. As he dropped me off at the theater door, he told me that the manager had been called and that if the stalker was still in my theater, they would call the proper authorities to nap him. I went reluctantly back into the theater and saw that the stalker was still there. This time, an elderly woman was with him. 
     She was talking in a forceful whisper and shaking her finger at the stalker man. I realized that this was his caretaker. So turns out, the stalker man was mentally handicapped. But hey, it was better that a serial killer. I figured it was okay to go back to my seats. My friend and I watched the rest of the movie and later went shakily home. The boss of the theater had to talk to the man and his caretaker. But ultimately, I was okay and no harm was done besides the suffering of my nerves!
      What I learned from this experience is this: God is with me always. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, He is with me speaking through me and His hand is always on me. Whether I'm at camp with awesome little kids, hiding in a movie theater bathroom from a stalker, hanging out and laughing with my friends, taking a ridiculously hard test, sleeping in my bed at night, or in my church worshiping, the Lord knows me and will never let me go through life alone. He made me special and knows my every step. He knows the stalker guy too, and loves him! 
     God is always helping us through situations. There must be dozens of "near-death" situations that we don't even know about that the Lord has His hand of protection on. Sometimes, we actually get involved in those situations and it just makes His goodness and faithfulness all the more apparent. It also shows that when we have the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords on our side, there is nothing we have to be afraid of. No death, no shame, no stalkers, no evil can destroy us! So there. Ha ha!
      Something else I learned from the movie theater experience is that in a way, I should be like the stalker man. No seriously, hear me out. As Christians, we are supposed to seek relentlessly after the Lord. He is the One to go after! His plan is the perfect plan, and to know what He has in mind for your life, we have to seek Him relentlessly! We should be passionate in our walk with Christ and we should always be searching for His face. I hope that I can be like the stalker man in my walk with God, and I hope you all can too! ...But don't get TOO wrapped up in the stalker thing... keep in mind the nightmares of the little girls in the movie theaters. ;D