Theft is prevalent in Brgy. Dos. We've
had numerous incidents last year. I never thought I would be the next
victim. The morning I woke up, my important belongings are gone.
Nada.
I use to sleep in Ninang Eldie's
living room. I always leave the windows and kitchen light open. I
didn't have the clue that the thief can barge in through the gate.
This early morning, a swift movement
by the main window woke me up. I saw someone going out through the
window. Being half awake, I thought it was a cat, but I also
suspected that it could be a robber. I disregarded that small
suspicion because our gates were always padlocked. Sai's laptop was
also sitting under the table. So, I continued my sweet sleep, not
knowing that he took my bag containing 4k, important ID's and ATM and
my gadgets.
And he left my yellow tumbler near the
front door.
When I woke up for good, I picked
'Breaking Free', the title of the book I just bought using my second
'sweldo.' I felt much rested for a whole day's work. When I tried to
find my laptop, I looked at the gate---the padlock was gone! We
called Capt. Raoul Nitro and the police who queried the details of
the incident.
At first I did not feel the sting of
losing important belongings. Then lately, I realized that losing your
important ID's, essential files (which contained some school,
ministry and photography documents) and laptop was a sad experience.
I remained silenced for several hours, but God remained my comfort
and faith, my assurance. This incident reminded me that if God is
your utmost treasure, you can't be shaken.
So let's get serious here,
Experiencing loss is part of life. Our belongings, positions, loved
ones and even facebook accounts can be taken from us (my twitter
account just got hacked this June!). But what will assure us that we
will remain intact when that happens? It's having a relationship with
God.
I was encouraged by a young friend who
put a post on my facebook timelineline. It says:
A woman experienced being robbed by
thieves. in her diary, she wrote: "let me be thankful first, because
they took my bag and laptop and not my life; second, although
they took my all, it was not that much as my faith; and third,
because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."
Let
us see God's purpose behind every trial and the good things behind
the worst situations.
Being in tuned with God's purpose
enables us to see what He is teaching us in good and bad situations.
Having our hearts set on what God sees as important sustains us in
tough times. Indeed, NOTHING can really be taken from us if God is
our treasure and not the things of this world. The worst thing in
this life is not the loss of belongings, it's the loss of one's soul.
For eternity.
What good will it be for someone to
gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Matthew 16:26.
There is someone who risked losing His
life that I won't be lost forever. Though He was rich, He lived poor,
rejected and despised. It was as if He was taken advantaged of all
the time. But He suffered it all for us because He wanted us to
experience everlasting joy in God and not in material possession,
worldly definition of success and temporary pleasures of sin.
When living for Him who died for us
becomes our priority, bad things become blessings. They can be
avenues where He can do His deepest work. Because of His power
working in us, we can have the right response when such things
happen.
I'm praying that robbery incidents in our area would be solutioned. Let's take care of our belongings!
