Overview:
The author recounts an experience where they witnessed a young man being arrested while attending Kwanzaafest in Dallas. Later, they learned that there had been a shooting and the police were looking for the shooter. Despite the chaos, the author and their friend were protected from the worst. The author reflects on the experience and encourages readers to be thankful and worship their way out of difficult situations, as they may be protected by God.
“Tell my mama to come get me.”
As the Dallas Police placed the young man repeatedly shouting these words in the back of a police cruiser, I watched from the comfort of my car as I entered the parking lot for Kwanzaafest a number of years ago. There were many questions running through my mind as I was mesmerized by what I saw. However, the biggest question was what had I just driven into and what had he done to get himself arrested? I was a little concerned because I’d convinced my friend visiting from out of town that Kwanzaafest was a fun place to go in Dallas for holiday shopping.
Because it was too crowded to get inside the building where Kwanzaafest was being held, we opted to walk through the nearby African American Museum. About an hour later, we were stuck in traffic again; this time we were trying to make our way out of Fair Park.
As traffic slowly moved, my friend noticed the police in riot gear and wondered why they had their shields out and ready for action. I told him I was unsure but was not trying to stick around to find out. I then noticed that I had to put gas in my car so as much as we wanted to leave the area quickly, we had to stop. It turns out that where we stopped was less than 20 feet away from where the police were.
As we put gas in the car, we asked the parking lot attendant what happened. He shared how there’d been a shooting and the cops were looking for the suspect. Finally, the arrest we’d seen earlier now made sense. But even in the midst of the chaos that we’d unknowingly driven into, we’d still been protected from the worst.
In the end, I don’t know if I was more disappointed because I missed my annual Christmas shopping at Kwanzaafest or shocked because we’d been in middle of a potentially explosive scene without realizing it. Ironically, I’d been explaining the good, bad, and ugly of the Dallas/Fort Worth area to my friend when we experienced a real-life example. Had I known how dangerous the situation was, there’s no telling how I would have reacted or how much I would have panicked.
A former Pastor once preached that we before we can have faith, we have to learn to be thankful and worship our way out of “the middle” like the Hebrew boys in Daniel 3:13-30.
As 2025 ends, you may find yourself in a similar situation where you are dealing with things in “the middle.” Your “middle” situation may be a financial struggle, relationship problem, or a place of spiritual yearning. If most of us knew how bad the middle was on the way to our promised land, many of us would have said “Never mind!”
Sometimes God allows us to be protected in the middle because he wants us to be focused on the one who can deliver us out of those circumstances. Perhaps more importantly, once we realize this protection, we can be more thankful about what we experienced and what is to come.
Shewanda Riley is a Fort Worth, Texas based author of “Love Hangover: Moving from Pain to Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @shewanda.
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