This time it was on the streets of Antigua; during Holy Week. Lots of crowds and the “pick-pocket” type robbers slit my purse and took my wallet.
They didn’t get that much cash, but did take my ATM card from my Guatemala bank, my driver’s license and my passport.
What I think bothers me the most, however, is that this money will not benefit the truly poor. Actually, most of the pick pockets seem to do rather well for themselves. It’s amazing how skilled they are at their trade and how fast they can disappear. I’m pretty sure I know when it happened. I felt kind of a tug as I was talking to a lady with a baby. I turned quickly, but saw Don Leo had come up beside me, so didn’t think much of it. I only realized my wallet was gone when we went to buy some pop at a corner store.
Don Leo and Mari felt horrible about this, since they had talked me into going to the processions when I had only intended a trip to the grocery store. While I really wasn’t very upset by being robbed (it comes with the territory, I’m afraid if I choose to live unafraid in Guatemala), I was beating myself up about taking my ATM card with me, and for complying with the stupid new regulation that foreigners must carry their passport. And, oh, what a pain it is to replace my drivers’ license. At one point, I even wondered if that lady with the darling baby had been “in on it.”
This stopped suddenly, though, when I realized the truth of the situation. Anything that was taken could be replaced. It will be a hassle, but it is possible. I was not hurt, though the thick purse I was carrying was slashed by what must have been a pretty sharp knife only centimeters from my ribs.
What I really realized was: I’m not going to let ANYTHING interfere with my celebration of Holy Week and the Resurrection. While Paul tells us:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?. , . 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I realized, as I read through the rich chapter of Romans 8, from which the above quote comes, that one thing and one thing only can separate me from the love of Christ and steal from me the joy of my salvation—my own attitude.
Would I let the resentment of have what “belonged” to me taken from me overshadow the joy of what I had been given, and was being commemorated this week—my life in Christ Jesus? Or would I surrender the situation into the hands of the Father? Would I trust that: 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I don’t quite know what the purpose of this incident was. I don’t believe God “caused” someone to steal my things to teach me a lesson.
I do, believe, though, that He has used it for His glory. To teach me in real life the value of my life in Him, and the insignificance of our circumstances. To teach me, first hand, that my joy is my choice, and not the result of the circumstances I am in. That only I can separate myself from the love of Christ.
This has been well worth whatever it has cost me. . .
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