Good as New

This has been an interesting week. I think the pictures tell the story:

My car on Tuesday morning:


My car on Thursday morning:


That's right. Someone broke my car window and helped himself to whatever he could find inside. Luckily, I never leave ANYTHING valuable in my car, so he didn't find much. The only CD he found was a kids Bible Memory Verse Sing-along. We found that on the sidewalk a block away... guess he wasn't interested in memorizing Bible verses this week... There wasn't any damage to my stereo or steering column. Thanks to "The Club" my car wouldn't be too easy to drive away, so he didn't even try to steal it. The only damage were some scratches on the door and the broken glass. Praise God! It could have been much worse.

Interestingly, we practically have the glass fix-it company on speed dial around here. "Smash and grab" is a pretty common crime (that's when someone breaks the window to grab something out of the car). In fact, when I called to report this to the police, they took my statement over the phone, it wasn't even worth a patrol coming to the scene! The glass guy was able to find a used Nissan window to save me some money and he replaced it yesterday- he even came here to do it for me! So if you ever need a new window in St. Louis I have a place to refer you to!

It's funny, really. When I first got my car I would freak out if the rain seemed too hard on it! Now I am just so glad to have it that the minor dents, dings, scratches, and even occasional broken window seem incidental. So many of my neighbors rely daily on public transportation. It is expensive, inconvenient, and unreliable. But being able to afford the upkeep of a personal vehicle is simply out of the question for most folks around here. It really makes me think differently about my material possessions when I consider the single mom down the block who has trouble putting food on the table for her kids. I am thankful I have the resources to maintain my car, and pay for the window to be fixed when something like this happens. I also found myself so sad for whoever did this. This was just a reminder that it's for people like him that God has me and World Impact in this community. We are committed to seeing people become free from the bondages of sin by His glorious grace. And, thankfully, I get to see that happening on a daily basis, which helps on the hard days to keep me here serving.

Amazing how God can speak through a little broken glass, isn't it?