growling at things that go bump in the night

Today I heard my dog, Yoda, growl for the first time that he has been with us. It was in the pre-dawn hours and I was taking him for the first walk,  and in the end of the circle he stopped and growled into the darkness. Since it was so dark, there was no moonlight at that time, I could not see into the woods, but he could. He knew there was something outside of the ordinary for him. I figured that it was probably an opossum, or fox, or raccoon - maybe the same one who periodically empties out the bird feeder.  I pulled on Yoda's lease and we went on our way but not before he sent back a few barks at "things that go bump in the night"

I joked and made a mocking prayer of the old Scottish Children's Prayer for Yoda:
From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

I looked up at the familiar stars of the belt of Orion the Hunter as a sign of strength and heard the sound of the waves which were especially active as a mantra of God's power but I was not lulled into a Pollyanna vision of goodness and light, I held on to the danger in the dark. There is a danger in the world and we have to be as "wise as serpents and foolish as doves" in dealing with it.

When I got back I opened my  Morning Prayer and the Hebrew Testament lesson is continuing the story of Esther. the last verse was;

"Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go with the king to the banquet in good spirits." This advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made."

Luther hated the book of Esther as scripture for he found nothing of salvation in it but I just enjoy it as a standard revenge fantasy we tend to have when we feel vulnerable. Yet the reminder that there is evil in the world is a good antidote to magical and wishful thinking that we are protected by a big invisible shield in the sky. There is strength from a power greater than ourselves but we have to be willing to acknowledge that this is a broken world and we ask for strength to make it through the day.

Maybe the prayer is right and I need to find the faith of the Scottish children in my ancestors who would have prayed:
From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!