Rushing down Poplar Street on our way to school, we saw him.  “Look, there’s a deer!” one of my children called.  We all craned our necks to see the young male running down the sidewalk. 

Sometimes near the park and dam, we’ll see deer.  The Verdigris River is nearby, and there are nice wooded areas.  But on Poplar Street?  Poplar Street does not have any hiding spots.  Poplar Street is a residential area.  Deer don’t hang out on Poplar Street. 

Fear in his eyes, he was zigzagging between the street and the sidewalk. Pure panic!  He had one broken horn, and his breaths seemed to be coming in gasps.  Somehow, he was lost and could not find his way.  It seemed, he was foaming at the mouth.  But he blindly ran farther and farther into the thick of the neighborhoods.  Disoriented, he was running away from safety!  He was separated from the other deer.  Alone!

Later that night, I wondered if this was the same deer that was darting out between cars from 10^th Street to Poplar.  I heard the screech of tires and the thud.  He had been hit, but he scampered off into the night.  I hoped that he was finding his way out of the neighborhoods in the town of Independence, that he was making his way back to safety.  But I don’t know.

The mental image was still in my mind of pure panic in his eyes, the blind running, and gasping for air!  I told a young niece about it.  She said, “Oh, I know exactly how he felt!  I have felt that before!”

I have also.  I remember knowing I had messed up as an adolescent and not knowing how to get out of the place I was in.  Which direction should I go?  Who could I talk to?

I’ve had friends and loved ones trapped.  Emotionally they were running.  Sometimes further away from safety.

I had a couple of teenagers tell me last week that they are pretty sure some of their friends are involved in pornography on their electronic devices.  Will these teens find their way?  Will they be a casualty on Poplar Street? 

It really does not matter what the reasons for your panic, what it is that has separated you from the rest of the herd, what it is that has made you lose your way.  It might be depression, grief, or forbidden territory that you have gotten trapped in.  The devil would like to isolate and destroy you, but God wants to give you direction.

Whatever it is, Jesus came to find you on Poplar Street!  No matter what the thoughts are that are swirling in your head, “There is Hope”! (by Victorious Valley Homes)

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

Isaiah 61:1-4