Affirmation #93 by Susan L.

  I am far from oppression, Isaiah 54:14
  "In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you." NKJV
  The title of the entire chapter is "A Perpetual Covenant of Peace."
  All I can think of is those silver marbles hanging from a frame, a simple perpetual motion machine. The impetus of one striking the row of marbles makes the marble on the other end swing out then return to strike the row. Back and forth they go. Click, click, click, click. Despite its label, it doesn't last because air causes friction making the marble's swing gradually lose strength.
  Action and reaction.
  "For you shall not fear." Click. "You shall be far from oppression." Click.
  I confess I've got a long way to go to live without any fear. It's a gazillion times better than it was but fear still creeps in on a regular basis. Fear of what? It's mostly personal stuff like feeling inadequate in social situations.
  Although, I went deep sea fishing earlier this week. It was a three hour trip for mackerel and cod. There was no need for Jesus to lead us to the fish, the captain had an electronic fish finder that pretty much guaranteed we'd catch something. It was a blast. I caught about thirty mackerel that kicked up a fight making them extra fun to catch.
  There was a single man beside me around my age. I didn't ask his name, nor did he ask for mine. We chatted about this and that, about how wonderful it was to be on the water watching the sea gulls and gannets dive bomb for the remains of the fish being cleaned by one of the boat crew. (My kind of fishing. They even took the fish off the line for me!)
  Despite the language barrier, he was a French-Canadian whose English was far better than my French; despite the noise of the wind rushing by and the powerful motors on the boat, we ended up getting to know one another quiet well. We shared our common love of the outdoors; about our grandchildren and families. We talked about trips we'd like to take. He shared he was a teacher.
  I don't know if he will ever know how blessed I was by him. His quiet manner, his kind but sorrowful eyes and gentle smile made him a man I wasn't afraid to talk to.
  Thank You, Lord, for this gift. Click. And another layer of healing falls into place.