We used to be a bit more innocent. A bit more naive. A bit more trusting. And we used to own a different laptop and have a shady back door or two. Oh, and we had a piggy bank I painted when I was first pregnant, before anyone but Beau and I knew.
My last post was in May. Early May. That's because May is always a crazy month for me, and I barely have time to think any thoughts, let alone write them down. I did manage to squeeze many wonderful events into the last five weeks of school--a visit from my wonderfully-amazing cousin, a chance to meet his super-cool boyfriend, the last preschool graduation, a fun mix-it-up lunch at my daughter's school, a Kindergarten field trip, cheering on my 3rd grader in the school talent show, turning 37, celebrating 16 years of marriage, enjoying "Jesus Christ Superstar" on stage, and a Kindergarten party. We also worked in a vacation to three of the houses lived in by Laura Ingalls and her family. It was busy, and it was fun.
And then, on our last day of vacation, after we'd enjoyed a day of pretending to be homesteaders in DeSmet, SD, I checked my phone to find a voicemail. It was from our neighbor, who was feeding our cat while we were gone. He asked me to call him back right away.
My first thought was that our cat had escaped and been hit by a car. So I prepared myself for that.
Instead, he answered my hello with, "Beka, I'm sorry, but you were robbed."
Robbed. Awesome.
Several long-distance phone calls--to my husband, who was in Montana for work; back to my neighbor; and to the police--later, we assessed that very few things had been taken. We also determined our back doors were both toast. And that it takes a very long time to get home from vacation when all you want to do is hug your husband and make sure your favorite things really are still in your house.
So now, nearly three weeks after we were broken into, my kitchen is a disaster while our builders work to replace our back doors and repair the frame around the door in the kitchen. We'll have to repaint the frame when they're done. And repair and repaint some chips in the plaster around the door. And then scrub up the floor from the grease and dirt work boots bring with them. We also had to clean up the fingerprint dust from my jewelry box and other doors and drawers. And we're waiting to hear what our insurance will reimburse for the doors, my work laptop, our personal laptop, and that piggy bank which our oldest daughter and I will recreate together more than nine years after I painted that first one.
Those are the physical damages we'll repair and replace. There are also emotional ones. There were neighbors who saw the people who broke into our house--before they had broken in--and said nothing. There were other neighbors who saw the people too and still said they wouldn't talk to the police. There's an almost-nine-year old who doesn't understand why someone would steal her piggy bank. And there's a six year old who is afraid to sleep in her room and had to receive reassurances from her daddy that the bad guys who break in and take things are not the same bad guys who break in and take kids. Like I wanted my kids to learn that right now.
We've installed a security system. And we've delayed the listing of our house for sale by a couple weeks so we can repair these damages in addition to finishing last-minute "fix-it" projects. And we still have those Laura Ingalls Wilder memories.
But so far on our summer break we've also learned another lesson. Or maybe relearned it. There's a verse that keeps going through my head: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." (Ps 20:7)
And I know He won't let us down. Even in the middle of a break-in . . . or a job ending, or a church closing, or health concerns, or a broken marriage, or a friend's betrayal. I trust in the name of the LORD my God.
