Wednesday 1st July

Police were called out to a major incident in Mendlesham last Friday evening. No, it wasn't a speeding offense involving a Church leader, it was something much more dramatic than that, but it did involve a member of The Forge - our very own drama queen, Sam Lee!

Sam arrived home from work on Friday evening and heard a knock at the door. "Three young boys were standing there," Sam explained, "and they asked me if I owned a cat called Tallulah. I said that I did and recognised the boys as being some of the many children living locally who like to play with the cat. They went on to say that something bad had happened. An older boy had been cruel and pulled the cat's tail, and repeatedly thrown the cat into a nearby field. The three boys had told him to stop but he wouldn't so they called the police! The police had arrived at top speed and were presently questioning the offending boy. The three little law abiding youngsters then explained where the cat was (hiding and frightened in some bushes) and that the youngest had helped pull a thorn out of the Tellulah's paw." So on Friday evening, the Suffolk constabulary sent out some of their highly trained police officers to make an emergency call to protect and rescue... a cat! It's one long adventure living here in Mendlesham!

The possibility of assault and cruelty doesn't just reside with Mendlesham cats. Ever felt scared and unsafe - maybe walking home at night or through some back streets of town. The fear can be quite legitimate as the news is full of 'nasty incidents' such as stabbings, shootings, muggings, etc.

If we feel fearful, it must be nothing compared to how Ruth felt, being a woman, a foreign woman at that, working amongst people she didn't know. She was vulnerable and would have been easy pickings for the less desirable members of the community. Yet Ruth is kept safe. How? Because of a kind and generous landowner called Boaz.
He warns off potential harassment through talking to his male workers v 9/v 16; he tells Ruth where to glean so that she has 'safe' people around her v 8/v 23.
He not only provided food and water for Ruth, he actually provided protection, a safe place in which to work.

Once again, Boaz was mirroring the God he followed and worshipped. God is our protector!
Years later, the King David would look back on his life and write these words:
"My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me,and my place of safety.He is my refuge, my Saviour, the one who saves me from violence." 2 Sam 22:3

Where do I need God's protection? From my own driving or the Mendlesham mafia? Possibly but I need Him to protect me from fostering a selfish heart, an inflated ego, being too busy, etc.
"Lord, be my rock, my protection, my shield."

Oh, just in case any cat lovers are reading this, Tellulah has made a full recovery and is back playing with the Mendlesham kids again. And the police? They're recovering from the excitement of their visit to the Mendlesham metropolis!