Aleta Danforth has been a missionary in the Congo (formerly Zaire) since 1979. She was heartbroken when they had to leave the country in 1997. A tribal war that began in Rwanda was sweeping toward them across the country. Soldiers were finally seen in their area, so Aleta, her family, and their fellow missionaries had to say goodbye to their good friends.

They had been forced to evacuate a few years earlier, and now they were leaving once more. Aleta felt that she was on a roller coaster, and the ups and downs were overwhelming her.

While giving a report to her church after arriving in the US, she was tearfully describing the wild up-and-down emotions she had been experiencing. Then she remembered that on most roller coasters, no matter how high or how fast you go, you are kept snugly in place by a safety bar and a harness. "I'm even more secure," Aleta thought, "because God has wrapped His arms around me. He is holding me as a shepherd holds a lamb. I am secure in His love."

Have your emotions been on a wild roller-coaster ride? Let Aleta's experience show you that you are secure in God's loving, everlasting arms (Ps. 95:7; Isa. 40:11).  — David C. Egner