a pack of gum

Graham disappeared in the morning to get the paper and it took a lot longer than usual for him to get back. When he finally came in he said, "our car has been burglared." It was a funny way to describe that our van got broken into. And I figured out that he used that word because it was Fraser our British neighbour who bore the bad news that morning. It turns out that we somehow forgot to lock the van, which is quite rare because Graham is so consistent with that. I didn't see the carnage but CDs were strewn all over the seats. The glove compartment and little compartments were all opened. And the driver door was left wide open so the driver's seat was soaked because it rained the night before. Our garage door was wide open and it was apparent that they even attempted to come into the house. The door was bolted but it was evident that someone tried to open the door and didn't pull it completely shut after trying. Phew!!! It worked out that my father-in-law happened to lock the door the night before because we were out while they were listening for the kids. We almost always leave that door unlocked. There wasn't much to take from the garage anyways, other than our precious strollers, but what good would that be to some young thieves trying to look for some quick change? We lost little and were spared a total break into our house and a rude awakening from our house alarm. It was really strange that someone would try to walk into a house with two cars parked on the driveway and a house full of people.

The police came the next day and I got a free safety lesson and a wake up call to be more vigilant about locking doors. And I know how to lock our garage door so that the remotes don't work from the car. All this was a bit of a scare but it all subsided when I found how God worked it all for His good.

Our neighbours across the street also had their car broken into. Nothing lost but stuff strewn all over as well. It was apparent that they were looking for some change. The officer told me that he caught a guy with $70 in his pocket of just change doing this kind of thing... finding unlocked car doors and collecting their Timmy's coffee money. Anyway, it turned out that I got to talk to our new neighbours for the first time! I had made many attempts before but it was always so awkward. And then after that another neighbour came by to ask and we had a great conversation. I also found out the sad news that she just separated from her husband and is on her own with 3 boys. Now I know that I can try to bless her in some way.

Then I took the opportunity and marched down the street to talk to some other neighbours I've been meaning to connect with and just let them know what happened and that they should keep their garage doors locked.

I felt so encouraged and excited... and the next day I discovered that I did lose something--a pack of gum. Those darn thieves. But I found myself saying, "Wow, God really did something for His good through a neighbourhood car thief, all for the cost of a pack of gum." And the second thing I lost was a nice bib, but fortunately I have a second... My next thought was what they have to do with a bib?