Spirituality for Today – February 2008 – Volume 12, Issue 7

Bungled Burglary... Or God At work?

By Beverly Saylor

I'm one of those organized people who carry a contingency box in my car trunk. Never let it be said that I be stranded out of town without a toothbrush, a change of clothes or backup prescription eye-glasses. In the winter there are boots, blankets and jugs of sand for snow emergencies; in the summer, a lawn-chair and sun screen. In all seasons, I carry the yellow-pages, jumper cables and - well, you get the idea.

One would think that this highly prepared person would also have a photo-copy of all the papers in the glove compartment. Wrong. When a burglar recently broke into my car and ransacked the glove box, he stole a strange combination of things. None of it had monetary value: granola bars, a disposable camera full of beautiful mountain vistas, a first-aid kit, my car registration, and overflow photos and things from my wallet. None of it would have any meaning to anyone but me.

As I filled out the police report, I thought of other items. In the first aid kit was a tiny Bible. A cassette tape missing was a sermon by Dr. Lloyd Ogilvie. With the folder of personal papers and photos were a dozen scripture cards that I put into greeting cards.

While I regretted those losses, I put them into God's hands. When I later shared the incident with a friend, she laughed. "That guy is never going to break into your car again," she said. "Instead of money, he got scriptures and sermons!"

How wonderful if some impressionable teen went through the stolen papers and actually read them. I like to envision him sitting in a park, rummaging through all he'd taken. Instead of tossing them into the trash, perhaps a phrase of scripture caught his attention. Would he be curious enough to open the Book from which it came? Maybe he might even listen to the cassette tape and be intrigued by the words.

Whatever satan intends for evil, God uses for good. If it is His will, those scriptures and sermon went to exactly the right person.

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