One evening, we saw a bat, stuck between our screen door and the glass sliding door. The bat’s face was right up against the glass and his wings spread out. With his mouth open, it looked like he was hissing curses at us. And by the looks of him, I was convinced he had the evil connections to make them come true!

Obviously, I wanted this bat gone. But I didn’t want anything to do with the process. Ken to the rescue.

The next afternoon, after the kids had been playing in the yard most of the day, I asked, “So what did you do with the bat?” I figured he had beat it to death with a shovel and buried it six feet under. But he said, “Oh, I just tapped it off into the grass.”

“What???!” I shrieked. Just then, baby Cole toddled by and picked up something from the grass to put in his mouth. It was too much. I swooped him up and shooed Lindsay from the swing set into the house.

I couldn’t imagine a man sending his own children out into the wiles of a bat infested yard! I scrubbed their little fingers raw and washed Cole’s mouth out with soap. (Oh, yeah… They were loving this.) Then, I insisted that Ken walk back and forth across the lawn, searching every square inch for the rabid bat he had flung into our kids’ playground.

I guess he was right about the thing being able to fly off. No bat ever turned up in the yard. But a decade later, I’m still shuddering at the thought of that evil looking creature anywhere near my kids.

Yet, there is a creature right in our own back yard that has more than just evil looks; he is evil. And he organizes his army to stalk and prey upon the weak and unsuspecting–often children. But he doesn’t attack with his fangs showing. To the naked eye his tactics look harmless, fun, glamorous, and popular. And without guidance, my teens will toddle right over and put the glittery thing right in their mouth, or their mind, or their heart.

I was adamant about protecting my kids from a bat that wanted to get away. Will I shudder and shield them from the evil that wants to get in?