Hello y’all. We are on day 18 of San Antonio’s Stay Home-Work Safe order. We go out when necessary and to get some outdoor time. We were able to get some masks for us to use when we go out in public, which is great. I had been working on making some homemade ones, so getting some saved me that hassle.

Anyway, I wanted to share a quick lesson I just learned. So, we live in a small gated community. We are renting. We had been thinking about buying a home right before this pandemic broke out, but…here we are.

For a bit of background. This gated community is weird. When we first looked at this property, one of the stipulations on renting was accepting that the neighbors would always have access to their yard – through our yard. Our neighbors to the right of us do not have gate access to their backyard, except through our yard. We didn’t see that as a problem. Anyway, today as I was sweeping up in the kitchen, I looked out the window to see a man in our backyard, pacing back and forth, talking on his cell phone. So, I told my husband and he went out to investigate. Turns out the man was there to work on the neighbor’s yard. Usually, when the regular guy comes to mow, he will knock on the door to let us know he is going through. We did not get the same courtesy from these new folks working the neighbors yard.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we reread the lease and contacted the landlord for clarification. This place is managed by an HOA, so we had to make sure. Landlord was saying that the HOA owns the property. They only own the home and the porch. We were like what? So, if anything gets stolen from our backyard because of this community use, we are out of luck? How does that make sense, we ask? Well,  the HOA would claim we were on their property. If something get stolen of the porch, we may be able to make a case against the HOA, he said, but it’s iffy. The landlord was making it sound like he did not own the actual land, when he in fact does. He pays taxes on it. I know he cannot be that ignorant.

Well, it turns out that under Texas HOA laws, of which they are many, (If I understand them correctly) all property becomes community property and the HOA can enter anyone’s property at their discretion. They can cite the owner for violations even in their backyard. HOA’s can also give anyone to enter your property, or to go through your property to get to another property. Now I understand why some homeowners hate their HOA’s and avoid their creation.  The homeowner voluntarily submits to the laws of their HOA. Homeowners pay taxes on the land that someone else rules. That, to me, is insane. Why in the world would anyone give up rule of their land? Especially in Texas, where people love their land and their guns.

Here’s the lesson. “Why would anyone want to buy a home and property in a place with such stringent rules? I saw a man in our backyard, and if my husband hadn’t been home. I might have called 911.

Well, first it’s a gated community. The homes are small, but they offer convenience to work and everything else.

Second, they offer a sanctuary, a place to retreat without having to deal with cross traffic from the general public, and the homeless which have taken up residence right up the street. And we can keep out those many others that we want no where near us.

Third, most residents feel safer in gated communities. They offer greater protection.

Yup, physical borders provide greater protection. But do they really? Here, lately we have been reading about people killed in these very affluent, gated communities, tragic. So much for gated protection.

We have to remember that the only protection man has from the enemy, is the blood of Jesus. Man can rely on his resources and abilities. He makes his own plans. But it’s always God’s will that prevails. Today, is Good Friday. Y’all remember what happened this day in history?

Today, we are apart because of a microscopic virus that has invaded Americans.
We have been separated for our safety.
We have been ordered to stay home for our well-being and the well-being of all.

The blood that was shed on the Cross was shed for all man. Jesus Christ brings salvation to all who ask for it, as the prisoner on the third cross did before he died. It was given too many, shared to many and not everyone embraced(s) it. It is not much different today. We have a bunch of Judas’s, we have Christians that hold to a form of godliness, but their hearts are wicked. We have false religions, false teachers, false prophets… yup, not much different than when Jesus walked the earth.

But it’s what happened on the Cross, that we remember today. It’s the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who have His life that we might live. It’s not complicated. The gospel is so simple.

Y’all be blessed.