Lead Me to the Cross

I was sad to tell Daniel good bye, because I knew that I would not see him for one month as he was leaving to attend a military camp. We hugged and Daniel said that he would call me as soon as his plane lands to let me know that he made it safely. Many hours later I received a bothersome phone call from Daniel letting me know that all his dry food was stolen from his bag along with a flashlight and a crumbly TSA note stuck in the bag informed Daniel that his bag was inspected.

I stayed calm for about 5 minutes processing my conversation with Daniel. About a month before Daniel had to leave for camp, I began to coupon shop for items like beef jerky and protein bars. Little by little a stash of dried food was growing and I felt better knowing that my husband would not have to surviving the next month on MRE (meals – ready to eat) only. So you can imagine what I was feeling as I was told that the food was gone. My hard work of scouting every single store for good deals was vanished as quickly as Daniel’s 1 minute call that also informed me that military will be collecting everyone’s phone in a few hours.

As soon as we hung up I told the people I was surrounded by what have happened.

“Oh boy! These people picked the wrong person to mess with. They are about to deal with Oxmeana, the one who spent days on the phone with airline customer service, when my mama was treated poorly during her winter trip. Yep, the same one who didn’t stop when electronics store told her there was nothing that they can do with malfunctioned computer that she only had for less than one month. But what bothers me the most is that the food was taken from a military bag. Common, seriously?! And a flashlight…why would some one need a flashlight?” I said with anger and disappointed as I was searching for TSA contact info online.

My anger was fueled even more when the TSA representative told me that I would have to fill out a gazillion page report and they would only then start investigation. Unhappy I was ready to do whatever it took for justice to prevail. This means that if I have to fill out multiple page report, I would. The remainder of the day I rehearsed in my mind what I would say in the letter that I was planning to write very soon.

Even before going to bed, I couldn’t stop thinking about the food situation. I began to pray.

“Lord, if the person was hungry, why didn’t he or she just leave us a note saying so? I wouldn’t be angry then. It bothers me that someone chose to still the food…out of a military bag to make the matter worst”.

Just as I was preparing to fall asleep, the Lord gently whispered Matt 5:40 in my ear.

“And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well”.

“But Lord”, I answered dissatisfied. “I worked hard for my "tunic" and "cloak". It took time to find the deals and coupons and now someone else enjoys my hard work!”

But the Lord continued to impress upon my heart to forgive and forget. It was never mine to begin with. He will take care of the rest. And I followed His instructions of forgiving and forgetting.

Note: As I share with you my life lessons, I want you to know that I am far from being perfect. I am a sinner who falls short of God's glory and He continues to teach me daily to be more like Him.