The Car Has Been Found

On Monday morning at 9:30 we received a call that our car had been found in University City, a northern burb just outside the city limits of St. Louis. I called the lot and they said they were closed, but I could pick it up tomorrow. Feeling a little saddened by the whole ordeal, I packed up David, Jonathan, and Caroline and we went on a little adventure. First we had to go to the City Police to verify that the vehicle status was changed so that we could in fact take it from the lot. Next we went ahead and drove up to see the vehicle, knowing that it was Memorial Day and that I wasn't going to get the vehicle. When the officer saw the kids he said, "Are you taking them up to get the vehicle? That's not a very good part of town, then again would a good part of town have an impound lot?" I said good point, but figured we would be fine early on a holiday morning.

When we got to the lot I could see the vehicle through the fence and it looked okay. In fact I was a little sad to have to leave it there overnight, like it was a family pet or something who would be lonely without us. So Tuesday morning I got a ride up to the lot and found out I had to pay $120 to have them release my vehicle which was stolen from me. Their consolation to me was, "Your insurance will cover it." My response to them was, who keeps full coverage on a 12 year old vehicle with 170,000 miles? The car wasn't valuable monetarily, but it was a good car and has/had another 30,000 miles in it before the theft.

After paying the "grand theft auto tax" to get my car back I walked out to it and finally saw the real condition of the car. Outside it was okay. Inside...trashed. There was garbage all over, my prescription sunglasses were all busted up in pieces on the floor. My ignition and console were ripped out and my radio had been forcefully removed as well. To top it all off, the police had dusted for prints and there was this silver dust all over the inside of the vehicle which was rubbing off on me and anyone else who had to get inside. With a melancholy spirit I drove the vehicle to an auto repair shop near our house to get some specifics on the damage. I had figured $200-$400 for the console, $100 for a new radio, and $100 for a good cleaning and detailing for the interior. Well I was right on all of those estimates, except that I missed the $500 charge to fix the wiring and tubing damage that was caused to the car when they ripped out the radio. All toll, the repairs on the vehicle will be around $1,000. Our vehicle bluebooks at around $1400 and we have minimal liability so there is no coverage for our situation.

From the moment this all happened, Julie and I prayed and acknowledged that this was permitted by God and in reality was not a huge deal. Life is filled with trouble and we have had it very good these past many years. We don't go looking for problems, but recognize that injustice and suffering is part of a fallen world and how are we going to respond? I am getting a 2nd estimate on the repairs, but we are likely a one vehicle family now and that is okay. We will pray and ask God what He would desire of us in this situation and we will praise Him along the way. I have had many offers of help in this time and am grateful for them all, but often I will just react to try to fix my situation and sometimes that is not what God desires. This time we may need help as well, but first we will pray and ask God for His guidance and provision for our lives. Part of coming to St. Louis was a desire to trust God and learn to walk with Him more closely. I pray most of all that this would become our reality.

It is challenging to acknowledge and live in the hurt and disappointment of life while still remembering what really matters and realizing how blessed we all are. It is the tension between being present and engaged in our earthly life while always remembering where our true citizenship lies. We want to be honest about our sadness and yet we are thankful for the whole ordeal as it has showed us just how much we can hold onto earthly things. We Americans have so much security and stability compared to the rest of the world. I have dear brothers and sisters in Christ in Zimbabwe who have no control and are at the mercy of various gangs and corrupt civil authorities every day of their lives. Injustice reigns and they are asked to love their enemies much more often and directly than I am. They manage to live with a winsomeness and trust in God that I could only imagine in their circumstances.

Most importantly, losing our car has shown us that we are still in the middle of a battle, a battle of good versus evil. Many people, and many Christians, minimize the role of evil in the world. Evil is some abstract thing that bumps up against us every now and then. On the contrary, evil is alive and very present in our daily lives, whether we recognize it or not. In fact, this weekend I am preaching for the first time since arriving at Rooftop and I will be preaching on "Overcoming Evil With Good". The more I pray and prepare for this message, the more I realize that evil is being done to people and especially the people of God. Sometimes evil is done to the people of God by the people of God which is truly sad and a shame. However, the real question is, how are we going to respond to it?

I hope to have an answer for you by Sunday. In the meantime, your prayers for our family as we consider our long term plan would be appreciated. Also, pray for our protection and surrender to the will of God in our lives, whatever might come along.

"Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. And perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let them ask of God who gives to all people generously, without finding fault, and it will be given to them." James 1:2-5