Well, I never thought it would happen to me. Lesson learned I guess.
I ride, er…rode, my bike to and from work every day. At first I parked it inside the sun room at the rear of my house. Eventually I got lazy and just set it by the back door. This Tuesday morning, it was gone.
Bummer, too. The bike was a gift from my boss last Christmas. Coming up on a year old, I’ve taken excellent care of it – I don’t think there’s a scratch on the thing. So I guess I’ll call all the local bike shops and let them know to keep a lookout. Maybe I’ll call all the local bargain buy places and alert them, too. Guess I had better keep an eye on Craigslist, Ebay, and Facebook Marketplace. Never know what might turn up. Aside from all that, and filing a police report, I guess there’s not really anything more I can do than tell everyone to look closely at every cyclist they see.
The hardest part of this whole thing isn’t the fact that I’m riding my wife’s bike to work instead of my own. It’s the part inside me that says, “Why weren’t you more responsible? Why didn’t you put your bike inside, or at least lock it up? Why didn’t you put up the security lights your wife asked for months ago? It’s your own fault your bike was stolen. You deserved this.”
While some, or even all, of that may have some truth to it (no doubt my failure to secure my bike aided the thief), what’s the point of dwelling on these thoughts? I’ve learned my lesson, so why be depressed about something that’s out of my control? Now I realize it’s that last phrase that really is at the core of how I’m feeling:
Out of my control.
But you know what is not out of my control? My inward and outward response to the situation. I’m thankful that I’m not easily angered. I’m thankful that only one curse word was uttered from my lips instead of a string of twenty (and even then I whispered it). I’m thankful that I was led to pray for my bike thief. That he might be convicted enough by conscience to return the bike. And that if he truly is in need, that God would provide for him and those close to him. I’m thankful for my wife’s bike, and that I’m close enough to walk to work if I have to.
And I’m thankful that God tests my faith, my reliance, and my dependance. It is not always easy, and Lord knows a stolen bike is nothing compared to other losses. How about a lost job. A huge debt. A miscarriage. Cancer.
God is sovereign through it all. His ways are higher. His purpose is greater. Great is the Lord.
I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
- Isaiah 45:7
Filed under: heart, up, curse word, last christmas
Angered with you, over our fallen world, honey! Thank you for getting me a bike, that can now serve as your back-up. Thankful with you that God is in control and will engineer this for good and provide for our needs.
With you, for better or for worse,
Jo