This is the last thing I thought I'd be telling you today.

I think I have a really good excuse to say this was a lousy day. Lousier than any I've had in a long time. Yet, here I am at the end of it, still smiling.

I got up this morning and looked out the front window to see if my husband's car was still here. When it's gone, I know he's already left for the gym. It wasn't there, so I assumed he'd gone. But as I was getting dressed, I heard him cough in the living room. I went out and said, "Um, not to get you all panicky or anything, but, where's your car?"

He answered, "In the driveway."

I said, "No it's not."

We both ran to the front window and, sure enough, no car.

We checked both bedrooms, and all the kids were still asleep. We met back at the front window.

It's hard to describe the feeling of disbelief you get, looking where you know your car should be and not seeing it there. And then there's the feeling of violation. And back to disbelief. And then you say out loud, "My car is gone." And you look at your spouse. And you say it again, "My car is gone," with a different inflection this time.

Our car is gone. It was a great car. One of the nicest we have. It was not covered by comprehensive insurance because we only paid $800 for it. We bought it from our next-door neighbors last summer, and they love us so much they gave us a great deal on it. It was worth WAY more than that.

But you know what? Nobody got hurt. We're all here, safe and sound. We will live without the car. We still have enough for everyone to drive. We may never know why God allowed this, but we know we can trust Him to do what's best for us. He always does.

We found out later we're not the only ones in the neighborhood who were victims last night. Another family had a car stolen, and others' cars were vandalized. Someone had a party in our subdivision at our expense. But it's ok.

Take the world, but give me Jesus.

Be thankful ~

Karen