Our 1993 trip to London, England, was full of happy surprises, including our encounter with the dynamic Diana. But our stop-over in this famous city also included one miserable experience.
While we were abroad I enjoyed buying trinket-souvenirs for the 6 children I’d left at home, things like toffee candy in a double-decker bus tin. As for Nate, I was planning a special purchase.
Our family was in the throes of a financial stranglehold back then and had eliminated all unnecessary spending. (The only reason I went to England was that Mom was treating.) I’d spent months setting aside small bits of money in anticipation of the trip, wanting to buy Nate a new pen. He loved pens, especially fountain pens, and used them all. Owning one from the UK would be unique.
By the day of our departure I’d saved $430 toward the pen and looked forward to choosing it. The morning our group of 6 decided to shop at the world famous department store Harrods, I knew my moment had come.
As we approached the 160 year old store, a commotion across the street grabbed our attention. We found a man hawking what he said was 24 karat gold jewelry displayed on the lid of a suitcase. “These necklaces are worth 10 times what I’m charging! If you took them into Harrods, their appraisal would bear that out. Hurry and make your purchases before security makes me leave!”
As he talked he laid out new pieces, each one glittering more than the previous one. Mom purchased a necklace and said, “I’m going to Harrods for an appraisal. If it isn’t as he says, I’m getting my money back.”
We crossed the street and went into Harrods, but when I reached down to check my purse, the zipper was open! I dug inside, but my wallet was gone.
“I’ve been robbed!” I shouted. “My money’s gone!”
We concluded that the jewelry guy hadn’t been working alone. A second man must have been moving through the crowd picking pockets and purses as we gawked over gold necklaces.
God wants us to hold everything lightly, every possession, opportunity, relationship, title, and every dollar bill. There’s not one thing on this earth that can’t be somehow taken from us, including our lives. It’s better to view “our” things as on-loan rather than owned, because if they vanish, our adjustment isn’t difficult. Everything we have, including each next breath, has its ultimate source in God.
Although 19 years have passed since I lost my $430, I still haven’t figured out why God let it happen. Nate never got his fancy pen, and nothing positive came from the loss. There is one consolation, though: when Mom got her money back for bogus gold, the hawker got a tart lecture from an American oldster for being so dishonest.
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32)