Break-In Blessed?

This morning Reuben and I woke up to discover that our house had been broken into. When we woke up, Reuben had asked me if I had gone to the kitchen in the night and had left the light on, because he could see that it was on from our bathroom window (we never leave the lights on). I was the first to walk about, and the first thing I go look for is my laptop. Check. All is well. I start to get onto ITunes because I wanted to download some new music for the run I was going to go on, when I looked over and saw my school backpack wasn't where I normally leave it. A little odd, but not so because Reuben sometimes moves it around. I walked around the corner to see where else it might have been placed, when I saw that the basket of keys by our door was missing. THAT was odd. Then I had a mini-panic attack and went to the front door (unlocked) to make sure that our cars were still out there. Check. Then I saw that the sliding-glass door next to our kitchen table was unlocked. Odd. Ugh. We called the cops and the very nice man that came by said that 4 other break-ins had been reported in this neighborhood this morning, and by the end of the day the total number of break-ins in this neighborhood last night would total 7. (And our neighbor's house had been broken into this afternoon around noon). My school backpack with my UW library books (perhaps they really wanted to read "Brown, not White" and learn about Chicano school segregation in the 1960s?), my wallet with my UW student ID and U-pass, ferry pass, cash, credit cards, and license were in there, along with my phone. My Ipod is gone, along with its charger. Smart guy, at least he knows that Ipod batteries go downhill as the device starts to age. Reuben's wallet was gone, along with all his cards and IDs. Even my babysitting money was gone that I had earned for the past two weeks :( A few other things were missing too, that took us awhile to remember: A jar of spare change, Reuben's yellow plaid jacket hanging on one of the chairs was gone (the thief will be easily spotted if he ever dons that on the island!), his sunglasses, a head-lamp, 4 mini-cheapo-bottles of red wine were taken (and spilled all over the next victims house!), and some Bath and Body peppermint hand soap from the kitchen sink, that my sister gave me for my birthday. It was delicious smelling soap, and it was antibacterial, but.....really, soap?

I had class this afternoon starting at 12:30, and I needed to be on the 10.25 ferry. Luckily Reuben went to Wells Fargo and was able to get a temporary card to get some cash out, and luckily he had a spare key to his Subaru. So he dropped me off at the ferry and I left for school, like always. I thought about staying, but there was nothing I could do to change the situation and I didn't want to hang out in this house all day and dwell on it. When I started thinking back about the morning as I rode the ferry, I didn't have an ounce of anxiety or anger. In fact, a sense of gratefulness welled up in me...truly peace that passes all understanding. I was able to bring my computer with me to school....it was sitting right next to the couch, but the thief didn't see it. Losing my computer at this point in the school year would have been quite a blow. I took Reuben's cell phone...Reuben had brought it to our bedroom during the night, so that wasn't taken. It seems like I passed an unusual number of ambulances today, and I was so grateful that even though our home was violated, neither of our bodies were. It could have been so much worse. Everything that was taken is replaceable. Completely replaceable. I cancelled my bank cards before there was any new activity on my account, and new ones are already on their way to me. My mom has sent me a spare Subaru key. I still have my temporary drivers license since I only got it renewed a few weeks ago. My passport was sitting right on the dining table and it wasn't touched. Reuben and I just had our interview for his green card application yesterday, so we had all of our important legal documents sitting out in the next room, which they didn't go near. Both of our road bikes (one borrowed from Laura) are still sitting inside in our entryway.

I'm so grateful. We won't get our cash back, I have to get a new license and a new student ID and U-pass, eventually a new IPod (but these days I only listen to the sounds of nature when I run!), and a new backpack. I'll have to pay for my library books. We'll change the locks on our doors and cars (since they took our keys). But once that's done....it's done. That's it. They didn't really harm us, just inconvenienced us. God is good. Maybe I should have listened to the USAA guy when he tried to sell me renters insurance. Oh well. We haven't had health insurance either for the past 5 months, but God has graciously spared us from any injury or need for medical care.

Perhaps tonight we'll be more intentional about closing our blinds or at least keeping our valuables out of sight. Despite what was taken, we are richer than we've ever been, because of the knowledge that God is watching over us and because we still have each other.