my car was stolen

My car was stolen yesterday.

Whilst baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies, some ugly stupid bandit took my car. It was 1:00 in the afternoon, right in front of my apartment, kids playing in the schoolyard next door, my neighbor pulling weeds out of his garden, traffic rushing both ways....and somehow the brave and mean person made off with my car. Not cool!

So after the inconvenient hassle of calling 911, waiting more than an hour for the police to arrive at my apartment, and then calming myself down, I reminded myself that while I nervously wonder if I'll ever see or drive my car again...there's really nothing I can do about it. I just have to wait. I just have to deal with whatever happens. The only thing I CAN do is check my emotions.

In an effort to keep myself in a cheerful mood I have been imagining possible scenarios for the thief. My friends have been helping me.

Possibility Number 1: (creatively constructed by Kenton)
Susie just got word that her mother is in the hospital after a tragic accident. She needs to get to the other side of the state as quickly as possible so that she can see her mother in her last moments of life. How will she ever make it in time? The bus isn't going to come for another 20 minutes! Oh wait!!! There's a fine looking car right there! She always wanted to know what it was like to drive a Ford Taurus Station Wagon! And just the other day her big brother Bobby taught her how to hotwire an engine. While stealing is wrong, my loss may have helped a young girl see her mother for the last time.


Possibility Number 2: (creatively constructed by Chris)
The thief is actually the most nationally WANTED sex predator Bruno Thunder. The dumb guy took MY CAR! And when the police find him, Oprah is going to find out about my heroic loss! It will be because of MY CAR that this predator will be caught. And then I'm going to be on TV and Oprah is going to give me brand spankin new car and probably some money too like $100,000.000! Wow, I'm so lucky!


Possibility Number 3:
(you fill in the blank--send me your ideas)


On a serious note, this has made me stop and think again about "stuff" and how easy it is to become dependant upon my possessions. I started to think about what my reaction would have been if something else would have happened. What if my house was burglarized? What if my cat was harmed? What if my laptop was stolen? The things we accumulate in our lives can be very valuable. I am thankful for the privilege to have a car, or to be able to live on my own or to have a good job in a great city. But when I took the bus to the coffee shop to vent my frustrations, and when I had to depend on some friends to give me a ride home, I was reminded again how beautiful this gift of community and family and love can be. God provides for our needs even when we feel like things are being taken away from us. Well....even when things ARE taken away from us. It is okay that I am annoyed. It is okay that I feel inconvenienced. It would even be okay if I needed to cry, or if I was mad. But it's okay BECAUSE I know that God will provide. And if I didn't believe in God...I'd still find a way to be comforted. I could calm myself down by refocusing or by the encouragement of other people. But it is exciting to me to watch my life move forward and around, and to know that there's a bigger picture.

Okay, well I'm rambling. For those of you who believe in God, and if you believe that God answers prayers, please pray....


....for my Dad. It's really HIS car. Pray that he can feel at peace until we figure out the damage, and still at peace if there's more damage than we expect.

.... for the person/people who stole the car. Pray that they would learn that stealing is wrong.

....for me, so that I will feel safe.

...for my car :-) Please pray that we find it soon.