It just goes to show that it will happen when you least expect it.
Today we decided to take the kids to the beach for some family time. We piled into a radio taxi and headed down to Playa Cavancha, where we unloaded at the beach's edge and proceeded to get set up with blankets, umbrellas and bags. Anytime we're at the beach, Mommy's job is to remain at the site while the others splash in the water. Always, Eva asks why I don't just go down and join them and always, my standard reply is that someone has to stay with the stuff. Well, today I broke my own rule to go buy the kids an ice cream from a vendor. You know the way this story goes!
In the midst of paying for the ice cream, a man rushed over to tell us that one of our bags had just been stolen. Pedro took off in one direction, the man and his friend in another. In the end they all returned empty-handed. Apparently it was two young boys who nonchalantly grabbed a bag and walked off with it. Fortunately, it was not the bag which held cell phones and which would have held Pedro's wallet (can you imagine??) if we weren't paying the vendor! Instead, it had a book I've been reading and the new hooded beach towels the kids had received for Christmas from Aunt Jenn (replaceable but still a source of despair for Isabel, who cried inconsolably for awhile - I think she was a bit traumatized!)
This incident actually paved the way for some good conversations with the kids. Eva announced that she was glad she knew God (because obviously these boys "didn't" ... however, her flawed reasoning revealed itself when some other boys rescued the girls' pails from being washed away and she deduced by their kindness that these boys "did" ... that led to a good discussion about what knowing God actually means!) We talked about how Mommy and Daddy would never let our kids be alone on the beach but apparently these boys who weren't much older than them didn't have someone who cared about them like they should. We also said how if they are doing something naughty like this when they were young, they would probably be doing much worse things when they were older. Having just suffered the loss of something they cared about, the kids were very sure they didn't want to do something naughty like this themselves! :)
Later, we stopped for a quick bite to eat and Daddy prayed for the boys who had done this. A short while later as we waited for a taxi, friends from church happened to pass by and pick us up. It turns out that they, too, had been at the beach and they had actually seen the police rounding up two young boys with a bunch of bags and taking them off in handcuffs. Whether we'll ever see our things again, I don't know, but most interesting to both Pedro and I was a question Eva asked much later as she was getting into bed. "Daddy, why do you say God has a purpose for our bag being stolen?" Pedro asked me if I had mentioned this to her but actually she came up with this insightful thought all on her own! He promised to talk to her about it in the morning, so I anticipate even some more good conversations ahead.
Today we decided to take the kids to the beach for some family time. We piled into a radio taxi and headed down to Playa Cavancha, where we unloaded at the beach's edge and proceeded to get set up with blankets, umbrellas and bags. Anytime we're at the beach, Mommy's job is to remain at the site while the others splash in the water. Always, Eva asks why I don't just go down and join them and always, my standard reply is that someone has to stay with the stuff. Well, today I broke my own rule to go buy the kids an ice cream from a vendor. You know the way this story goes!
In the midst of paying for the ice cream, a man rushed over to tell us that one of our bags had just been stolen. Pedro took off in one direction, the man and his friend in another. In the end they all returned empty-handed. Apparently it was two young boys who nonchalantly grabbed a bag and walked off with it. Fortunately, it was not the bag which held cell phones and which would have held Pedro's wallet (can you imagine??) if we weren't paying the vendor! Instead, it had a book I've been reading and the new hooded beach towels the kids had received for Christmas from Aunt Jenn (replaceable but still a source of despair for Isabel, who cried inconsolably for awhile - I think she was a bit traumatized!)
This incident actually paved the way for some good conversations with the kids. Eva announced that she was glad she knew God (because obviously these boys "didn't" ... however, her flawed reasoning revealed itself when some other boys rescued the girls' pails from being washed away and she deduced by their kindness that these boys "did" ... that led to a good discussion about what knowing God actually means!) We talked about how Mommy and Daddy would never let our kids be alone on the beach but apparently these boys who weren't much older than them didn't have someone who cared about them like they should. We also said how if they are doing something naughty like this when they were young, they would probably be doing much worse things when they were older. Having just suffered the loss of something they cared about, the kids were very sure they didn't want to do something naughty like this themselves! :)
Later, we stopped for a quick bite to eat and Daddy prayed for the boys who had done this. A short while later as we waited for a taxi, friends from church happened to pass by and pick us up. It turns out that they, too, had been at the beach and they had actually seen the police rounding up two young boys with a bunch of bags and taking them off in handcuffs. Whether we'll ever see our things again, I don't know, but most interesting to both Pedro and I was a question Eva asked much later as she was getting into bed. "Daddy, why do you say God has a purpose for our bag being stolen?" Pedro asked me if I had mentioned this to her but actually she came up with this insightful thought all on her own! He promised to talk to her about it in the morning, so I anticipate even some more good conversations ahead.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment