Northwood’s Notoriety

Elv says, “You can forget trying to sell this house anytime soon.”  Well, we weren’t really trying to sell the house at present, but if we were, yes, we’d be obliged to give it up.  Nobody wants to take up residence in a neighborhood known for burglary and theft.

Maybe we don’t want to live here, either.  Did anyone ever think of that? Twenty-three years ago when we bought this place it was one little old house in a quiet village miles from any big city ( where crime is rife, right?).  In all those years we have never consistently locked our doors either at night or when we leave…until this summer. Until this summer when most of Elv’s valuables were stolen from his pick-up cab.  They took everything from his brief case to his binoculars.  You name what a man might have in his pick-up cab and they took it. We figure they took it for resale for money. And we weren’t the only ones.  Seems like the robbers have worked the whole area. It makes us feel vulnerable and helpless.

But for some reason, here we are. And here we shall be for who knows how long.  I suppose that Bill two doors away at the tavern feels pinned down, too, even though he took the situation into his own hands and defended his property and person with a gun the other night. I bet it hasn’t helped his feelings of helpless rage in the least. It’s not what I would do in his case, but I can see why he would do that.  Dean at the Log Cabin Store is certainly in sympathy with Bill.

I commented to Elv that when these things happen I feel guilty like it’s somehow our fault.  We must not be very salty! Elv said he had those feelings, too. But we can’t dwell on that. We’ve known for years that God wants us here, on the reservation. The reasons have seemed hard to find, though, until lately when our young people started the Children’s Ministry.  At least now it seems like we’re doing something.

In the end, we have decided that since God hasn’t ever even come close to answering our prayers about relocating that we are to be content here and to trust that He can take care of us no matter what crime happens around us.

I sure wonder sometimes, though, why Dru’s had to go clear over to Thailand to be missionaries when there’s enough mission work here to keep us all busy! :)