Grounds in My Coffee

I'm sitting here with a bit of a knot in my stomach tonight. Being annoyingly wide awake at midnight with a bout of insomnia, I got up to putter around on the computer and found my first horrible (for lack of better adjective) comment. I knew that it was an inevitability; sooner or later I was bound to get one. But it still felt like a punch in the stomach to get it. It was from some stranger; someone whose name I've never seen before and pray never to see again (unless he wants to apologize, of course).

Needless. Hateful. So very sad.

My first reaction was to think, "What am I doing with a blog if it opens me up to evil like this?" And I thought for a moment that maybe I should just bow out, save myself the worry and heartache, and protect my family by being anonymous again. Because that hit me, too, like a ton of bricks ~ the fact that here I had allowed our name to slip into a post and on the same day I find such a comment. It's scary.

The world can be scary.

But then I remembered all the truly wonderful people I've had the opportunity to meet in this worldwide forum, up against this one loser ~ because that's what the devil is, a loser, and those who play his games are losers, too. And I refuse to give up the 99% good for the 1% bad. I'm not going to hide myself from their light, and I'm not putting mine under a bushel, either.

It's wasteful, isn't it, to throw out a whole cup of coffee for a few grounds in the bottom of the cup?

But, I've taken some precautions I probably should have taken from the beginning. I've set up my comments to be published only after I approve them, and I've determined to be more careful about our family's anonymity. (I took out the slideshow in the following post and replaced it with pictures for this reason.) And, I will begin every session at the computer with a prayer to St. Michael for his protection against evil. Dear Lord, that he will be a bastion of strength against the doors that would try to force themselves open into our world!

St. Michael, the archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. Rebuke him, O God, we humbly beseech Thee, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host , by the Divine Power, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.