Many people have asked why I chose the name Racci for my internet nickname.

Years ago, a mommy raccoon gave birth to three baby raccoons. A dog found them and killed the mommy and one of the babies. As the dog tried to get the other two babies, we rescued them.

The baby raccoons still had their eyes closed and were very weak. After taking them to the vet to be checked out, I took the babies home to try to help them survive. By the next day, one of the babies died.

I continued to feed the last baby with an eye dropper. Little by little, the surviving raccoon named Racci, began to get stronger.

His favorate foods were cheese and crackers. The only problem was that the crackers would turn mushy and fall apart before he could eat them. You see, before raccoons eat their food, they always dip it into water.

Racci was a curious little critter; he loved to sneak around and find lots of hiding places. One time he was found hiding inside the back of the hide-a-bed sofa. Another place he seemed to enjoy was the laundry basket. Since his mommy had died before Racci had even opened his eyes, this was his home and family.

A few days later, I was slowly walking down the country lane, feeling sad about Racci. Hoping that maybe some how he again survived, I began to call out his name. Suddenly, there was a chattering sound behind me. As I turned around to see what the racket was, Racci was quickly approaching me and jumped into my outstreched arms as our eyes met.

There are also times when we face struggles. Life seems to get out of control as the enemy chases us.

Like Racci, we have a safe place to hide; a shelter; a protector. Our rescuer is Jesus. His arms are our shelter.

When we stay close to Him, even though preditors attack, we have comfort knowing Jesus fights our battles. He walks with us, giving us strength and courage to face our enemies.