I did it again :-)



So I have this really bad habit, but I'll let you guess what it is :-) 2 nights ago Rob asked me to get out our rent money for the year. When you pay rent here, you pay it in one huge lump sum for the year. We don't keep that kind of money in China so my mom recently brought enough cash for it and some other moving expenses over in U.S. cash. We were so happy to have her here visiting that I mostly forgot about everything else for those 10 days and just enjoyed having her. So anyways, I dutifully went to the cabinet where I had hidden the money only to discover.....it was gone! I looked, looked again, and then pulled everything out of the cabinet. Then I decided it must have been in one or two other hiding spots that I usually use, but it wasn't there either. Rob asked me what I remembered about the money, like what it was in, when my mom had given it to me. Truthfully I remembered nothing about it. I couldn't even remember ever having seen it. I didn't remember if she gave it to me, what it looked like, where I put it, or what could have happened to it since. So after looking for a bit, Rob said we should go to bed and look again in the morning. He vaguely remembered going to the bank and figured he may have already deposited it. I didn't sleep well, for a number of reasons, but mostly because I was going over and over in my head where I could have put it. I mean who looses $5,000? Really? In the morning, off Rob went to the bank. But, the money wasn't there. Then I really started to panic. Rob came home, and we started ripping the house apart looking. My ayi, who was there, asked what we were looking for and I tearfully explained. She was visibly distressed and joined in the hunt. We looked for 2 hours and came up with nothing. I was in tears, my ayi was totally agitated, and Rob was very frustrated. By this time i was convinced it had been stolen. We have a constant flow of guests in our home, some we know well, some we don't know at all. There are often so many people here that I don't know who is doing what. I hated to think that, but what else could it be? It was time to get Robbie from school and eat lunch, so we gave up the hunt. After getting Robbie, I started getting out food, and my ayi told me that she didn't think she could eat. She was too upset. She confessed that she was terrified that we were thinking she had taken it. I quickly re-assured her that we did NOT think she had taken it. We adore her and know she would never hurt us that way. But she was very concerned that our friends and family would believe it was her if we never found it. After all she is the only other person with a key to our apartment. All of my re-assurances didn't help and she looked as distressed as I was. I was also not feeling like eating, but there was no point to continuously searching for something that wasn't there. We sat down all together, prayed for our food, and also that He would help us know what to do, and then we started eating. I had a funny feeling, and asked Rob to just check under the kids mattress. He looked....and nothing. But then he pulled out the drawer in the bottom of the bed. I told him not to bother because I had already checked it, but he did anyways. Of course, he found the money. At that moment I then remembered my genius plan: When my mom had handed me the money, I had been aware that Rob didn't have the necessary time to spend at the bank that week. I hate having that much money in the house. So I decided to hide the money in a spot that no one would ever think to look, to ensure its safety. I chose an unopened 3 pack of 4T undershirts in a relatively concealed drawer at the bottom of Robbie's bed. I tucked the money between undershirts......and promptly forgot ALL ABOUT IT.


NO ONE would ever think to look there, even if they opened the drawer. A point well proven as I had previously checked the drawer the night before without seeing it :-) My ayi and I both started crying and laughing in relief. The redeeming moment for our little drama came at the end, when my ayi exclaimed, "God showed it to you, we had just prayed for help, and then Rob knew right where to look. God told him where to look" Of course she was completely correct. There was no logical reason for Rob to ever check inside a pack of undershirts in a drawer I had already looked in. On his best day Rob is not a very observant finder of lost objects. God most certainly did help us, and it was a wonderful moment for our ayi to see firsthand how much He cares for us, even in the little things. So by now you must have guessed my bad habit. I am continually hiding things in "safe places" that I promptly forget and can never find again. I regularly torture myself with this practice. I'm glad God can use even that for His glory :-)

Comments

  1. Every Day is an AdventureApril 28, 2011 at 12:13 AM

    I do the same thing and have a handful of hiding places. It drives Dan crazy. Glad you found it :) and HE gave you an example to share His love with your ayi.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KatieApril 28, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    Oh you make me laugh! What a terrible feeling, but what an awesome story!

    ReplyDelete
  3. CarlaApril 28, 2011 at 4:32 AM

    Gretchen,
    You are not alone in this habit of hiding for safety, only to not be able to remember where that great place was. I think it is the very place that we find our Best Friend every time, waiting to surprize us with His wonderful care.
    So glad you got to see Him there, and your ayi as well.
    Love this story, it will be a favored reminder always.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sue YzziApril 28, 2011 at 6:59 PM

    Gretchen,
    I rejoice with you just like the neighbors did when the woman in the Bible found her coin after she swept her house looking for it and when she found it she told her neighbors (Luke 15:9). I can relate to hiding spots and forgetting too! Maybe a twenty or two:-) ~ I was so concerned for your mom traveling with all that cash. I was praying for her constantly. Never gave it a thought once she arrived safely. ~ Your prayers were answered and such a sweet testimony to your Ayi!

    ReplyDelete
  5. RubyMay 10, 2011 at 3:39 AM

    Glad Yujie knows God more. The last day she was working for me, when she living, I told her that God cares of her, everything God knows, if she has any problem she can try to pray, she said she will.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ElysaMay 30, 2011 at 11:13 AM

    Found your blog thru TOP 25 EXPAT MOM BLOGS. Loving reading it, especially this post. Isn't He a good God?

    BTW, I voted for you. :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. G.M.C.May 31, 2011 at 10:16 PM

    Thanks Elysa, nice to "meet" you. Thanks for reading! He is always good to us! So glad we have Him every step of the way!

    ReplyDelete

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