We fight not against flesh and blood

My first trip to India 10 years ago was filled with a series of really odd events that led me to believe that the enemy of our souls took a more direct route to destruction here in India than the subtle tactics used on us in the States. In fact, the spiritual oppression in India was so intense that first trip that I couldn't stop crying for the first three days I landed in this country.

Last night was another odd occasion. We had just gone to bed and Isabelle had been asleep for some time. All of the sudden, she started screaming, and kicking, and fighting, and punching us as hard as she could. This is so out of the ordinary...we had never even seen anything even remotely like this from her before.

After a few minutes of trying to comfort her to no avail, I started to undress her to see if there was anything "wrong" that I could see. Nothing. After about 10 minutes of our inconsolable child, Conrad's two brothers heard the odd commotion and came upstairs. We already felt like it was something beyond physical...but really a spiritual attack on our daughter and had begun praying. They joined us and we took her out on the veranda and continued praying until she finally (after about 45 minutes) fell asleep.

In my mind, I was still wondering if there was an ear infection or a belly ache. But there were no other symptoms and this morning she awoke fine and happy as a clam.

Being in India always reminds me, to spite our little suburban bubble that my life tends to be, that there really is a battle raging out there. It is for the hearts and lives of precious people, including our daughter. I guess you could say we got a little reality check yesterday.