I was robbed.

So I had to go up to our house in Merrillville to pick up some documents that Melissa and I needed.  Well, I got to the house and, surprise!, our house had been broken into.  To be more accurate, the best guess is that when I arrived the house was in the process of being robbed at that very moment, since we found some of the missing stuff sitting on the floor of the garage.  I bring this up to mention two things.

First, it is exactly like they show on TV and in the movies when someone's place gets "ransacked" - there is a moment of stunned disbelief.  That's what happened.  I opened the door and saw the TV, receiver, CD player and DVD player were all not where they were supposed to be, but it took me about ten seconds to realize what that meant...at which point I immediately got out of the house and called the police.

Second, I was somewhat surprised by my own reaction to the whole thing.  Of course, there was an initial burst of anger...and some fear (I own a high-powered air rifle and carried it around with me while I cleaned up the mess).  But those things quickly gave way to a sense of how good God is.  Had I not made a spontaneous decision to go get those documents tonight, our house might have been stripped clean.  Had I arrived any sooner, I might have actually caught the robbers in the act and been in physical danger.  Instead, I pull into the driveway and scare off whoever it was before they could get anything but the DVD player, receiver, and CD player - leaving behind all of Melissa's jewelry, all our important documents that were in our firesafe, and our two irreplaceable works of art.

God is definitely good.  And while I am certainly not glad that our house was broken into, I am pleased that God is beginning to show me what it means to live with a constant sense of joy and contentment.

jB