The other night, I had a slightly traumatic experience: I entered my bedroom just in time to see a huge cockroach leap right into my bed!!

To give some context, I sleep on the floor (on a mat that Koreans call a yo). I also sleep inside a pop-up mosquito tent with a zip-up flap door. It’s like a regular tent, but made of mesh. Inside that tent I feel so safe. No mosquitos can disturb my sweet, sweet sleep (which they used to quite viciously). Unfortunately, on this particular night I had left the very bottom of the tent flap unzipped (figuring the chances were very small that a mosquito would find the opening). Well, the cockroach just leapt right in. RIGHT IN TO MY SACRED SLEEPING SPACE!

I ran from the room screaming. (WHY MY BED? WHY?!)

When I collected the fortitude to go back and find the cockroach, I discovered it in the very last place I wanted to see it: Up the dress of the beloved teddy bear that sits by my pillow!!!

Eventually the cockroach was killed. My friend smashed it about 20 times with my hiking boot. Not to get graphic, but the guts were everywhere. (Well, mainly ground into my sheets.) Thank goodness for washing machines.

Strangely, this deeply disturbing incident bolstered my prayers that night. After overcoming that, I was emboldened to take on enemies of all kinds. The fighter in me rose up. My senses were heightened. I was on alert.

I will not be intimidated! No matter how disgusting the foe! No matter how unpleasant the surprise! I will not back down! I’m gonna smash those guys until they are all destroyed!

I realized that I was actually lucky to have seen the cockroach scamper into my bed, because the alternative would have been finding it in there with me later on. (UGH) I began to pray for God to open eyes to tactics of the enemy that needed to be exposed. I prayed for courage to confront those wiles. I prayed for boldness to fight.

Sometimes you also need a wake up call to do a major cleaning (which I definitely also did that night).

I, for one, plan on cohabiting with neither cockroaches nor any kind of spiritual equivalent. I may not be able to keep from screaming when I see something gross, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight (and ultimately be victorious!). And I won’t be ashamed to ask friends for help in the fight either.

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