A small loss that brought a huge gain

Today on Facebook, I happened to see a picture of a girl I had not seen since 5th grade.  I first saw her name - and immediately remembered who she was.  In the pit of my stomach I felt that same feeling I did the first time I learned her name.  When I pulled up her photo on Facebook, she looked the same as she did 30 years ago - small and thin, dark short hair and blue eyes much older than 10.  She still had the small space between her front teeth.  Her name was Christy and I had not seen her for more than 30 years.

Back then, I was a typical 10 year old school girl, beebopping along in my middle class, happy world.  I had everything I could ever want for - great parents, cool clothes, fun friends, good grades, lots of opportunity and confidence. I had made a notebook to hold all of my school subjects - one of those with the clear outside see through pockets where you can store photos.  I had put photos of my best friend and me on the front of the notebook, and on the back of the notebook was a big sticker with my name on it.  It was kelly green - the color of our school mascot.  I had left this notebook somewhere and couldn't find it.  It had all of my homework assignments, notes from my friends and special photos in it and I was heartbroken.  One day I was walking down the hall, running late for class and I passed this girl and saw my photos on the notebook in her arms.  I didn't know who she was, but I stopped her and said, "What are you doing with that?  It's mine!"  I jerked it out of her hands and she ran off down the hall.  Immediately I wanted to report the "crime" to the principal.  I went straight to his office and talked to the secretary.  I was asked to look through the photos of the students to point out who she was.  I remember when I saw her name for the first time.  It seemed so sinister.  I had utter contempt for this girl who would dare to take something from me that was so precious.

The principal's office said they would look into it.  By then, class had let out and I quickly looked for my best friend to tell her about the discovery.  She was shocked and we proceeded to share the news with all of our friends.  I had overlooked the detail of realizing how blessed I was to have back my valued property unharmed.  I was too focused on publicizing the news.  That night when I told my mom, she had a strange reaction.  She didn't share my vehement feelings of injustice and desires of prosecution.  She listened to me and then wondered aloud. It went something like this.... "Do you know this girl?  No, I replied.  I wonder if she has anything nice like you do?  I don't know - she wasn't dressed very nice.  I wonder why she would take your notebook and then keep it with the photos of you and your friend in it?  I don't know mom - she's weird."  Unfortunately, that was about as far as my thought process went with her comments.

Later on that next week I ran into Christy again. She looked away as we met in the hall and I gave her a good staring down.  I was still deeply offended that she had wronged me. The year went on and if I had any other interactions with her, I don't remember now.  I find it odd that after 30 years, her face would pop up in front of me again.  As I sit here remembering the details of the situation, I can't help but feel so sad for the way I handled it all.  I was clueless to what it must feel like to be in need.  My reality was so focused on me at the center of the universe, that I never even stopped to notice what was going on with her.  Funny, the loss that seemed so great at the time was actually a lesson that God was teaching me - and it took 30 years and moving to the other side of the world to learn it.

Now that I am surrounded by poverty, I am keenly aware of the challenges that come with it.... loss of dignity when unable to provide for your family, a strong desire to have the things that are needed, but the ability to save face when receiving them.   It makes me think of the verse in the Bible in regards to the poor in the time of the nation of Israel of the Old Testament.

^{Leviticus 23: 22} “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.’”


How do we do this in our everyday lives?  It's been pointed out to me that allowing the poor to come through and work for their harvest was essential - the work allowed them to experience the value of laboring for your earnings, yet at the same time acknowledging that all of it comes from God.  It was not until we moved to South Africa and no longer had income from our own work that I began to understand this better.  When you live on the grace of so many others you realize how you truly indebted you are to all those that care for you.  Our lives are bought with a price by Jesus and we are not our own. Nor is our money our own.  When you begin to view it this way, you realize the attitude that you should have toward it and how everything should be shaped by your service to God.

It also shows me the attitude God had to the foreigner.  Now this could obviously mean those who were not under the law, but if we apply it to our lives today - who is the foreigner?  It's that person or activity that is uncomfortable to us, the unfamiliar, those experiences that get us out of our comfort zone, those people that really stretch us.   Look into your life and see what that may be for you.  If we see the abundance of our blessings in the harvest of life that God gives us,  we can let God's love and blessings overflow to the poor and foreigners around us.

I thank God that he used Christy all those years ago to begin to teach me this lesson.  And I praise God that his mercy has endured while He waited for me to apply it.  Who knew such a small loss could bring such a huge gain.