Robbed!

I had the wonderful experience yesterday (she says with extreme sarcasm) of having my credit cards and debit card stolen from my wallet.  A great big thank-you goes to the Fraud Departments at American Express and at my bank for catching this right away and calling to alert me.  Otherwise I might not have known, since my lifestyle at this season of life doesn't include opening my wallet multiple times a day.  The thief went on quite a shopping spree....or at least attempted to.  But, as the representative from American Express said to me on the phone yesterday afternoon, there will be no more fun with my card!

The story ends well, for me at least.  I am not liable for any of the charges the person made.  I will be receiving new cards with new numbers.  My bank accounts weren't drained.  So, all is well.

But this morning I find myself thinking back through the whole scenario.  Trying to figure out when or how or why it happened.  Thinking about the person who took the cards and why they would have done that.  Wondering if I did something that put too much temptation in their path.  None of it really makes any sense to me, and I'm glad it's all taken care of.  I will definitely be very aware of my purse and my wallet and my personal possessions from this point forward.  Not that I wasn't already.  Or at least I thought I was.  Maybe I was just naive or too trusting or careless.  I don't know.  But I'm glad it's over.

I have a jumble of emotions about the whole experience.  On the one hand, it just makes me mad that a person would steal from another, not because they need money or food to feed their family......that doesn't appear to be the case here, based on the places the person attempted to use the cards......but for some other, far less noble, reason.  There's the part of me that feels a little bit stupid for having let it happen to me.  And there's the part of me that just feels violated.  Knowing that some stranger went through my things is not a good feeling.

In any event, my name is Susan and I have been robbed!

It occurs to me that, in much more subtle ways, we are all being robbed.  There are those in our political system who are working diligently to take away many of the freedoms we cherish as Americans.  Witness the recent debate about gun control, for example, which in my view is a lot more about control than about guns.

But beyond politics, the enemy of our souls wants to steal from us everyday. To rob us of our joy.  To keep us too busy, to distract us, to wear us down.   And that is a far bigger deal than a stolen credit card.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  (John 10:10 ESV)