When A Thief Strikes

Just the other day, I went swimming. Leaving my vest in the locker room, I jumped straight to the pool. The next 20 minutes, I came out of the pool, dried and dressed myself, and left for home. It wasn't until 4 days till I realized that something precious was stolen: my 80 gig iPod.

Searching high and wide for ブラック, or "Black," I slowly became manic when it could not be found. I kept telling myself that it must be somewhere -- just a matter of time till I find it. Yet, the more I kept staying in that mode, the more I became intoxicated with obsessive-compulsion. Couldn't find it anywhere, everywhere.

Thus, I kept heaping abuse at myself for my lack of careful attention for the precious things in life. But heaping burning coals on my head wasn't going to do anything. So, in the end, I tried going to sleep, as if my problems would disappear the next day. Predictably, I couldn't sleep. It was traumatic enough to know how careless I am, what more, I was bombarded with the prospect of studying without music. See, I just that kind of guy that can't study without music. With that in mind, I couldn't imagine college life without my mp3 player. It's a need, not a want.

Then, my arms curiously reached into the second pocket of my winter vest, hoping that my Dell thumbdrive would somehow be inside it. It wasn't. The thing with me is that I usually leave my iPod in the left pocket of the vest, while the thumbdrive inside the other. The fact that both devices seems to be missing coincidentally sounds suspicious altogether.

200 USD, the thought crops into my head. 200 Dollars. Fortunately, the thumbdrive is free and luckier still that I have already turned in my finals' paper, which file is within the device. Yet, despite all these, it still hurts to think about it. My privacy was violated, my things stolen, and my money wasted. What more, the thief could even plagarize my essay. Going to God in prayer, I poured out my feelings.

But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:38-42

Dear God, it's just so easy to hear in theory, but doing what You ask is just so difficult. Can I even ask a benevolent God to forgive this wretch for ransaking my things, for taking what is not his/her? God, give me the courage and will to forgive!