Monday, November 5, 2012

30 Days of Thanks- Day 5: Rings Returned

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”~Corrie Ten Boom


Welcome back my friends! Happy Monday to you! Is anyone else focusing on making November a month-long thanksgiving event? I have done this for the last two years now and it really helps me to stop and think about the things I have to be thankful for. Taking the time to focus on the blessings in our lives takes some getting use to if it's not something you do on a regular basis. It's sad that we sometimes get so overwhelmed by the troubles of this life that we don't take more time to really think about those blessings. It's something I want to do more of myself. Let's get started with Day 5.

Day 5 of my 30 Days of Thanks is all about something that happened yesterday. Me and the girls went to church yesterday morning and decided we would grab a bite of lunch afterwards and then go by Kohl's to look for a few things for Taylor. She has been needing a few more pair of jeans and a couple of sweaters for the upcoming winter. We were there for quite some time as we picked out things for her to try on and waiting to see how things looked when she tried them on. While she was in the dressing room trying on sweaters, the two rings she wears kept getting caught on the sweaters each time she tried one on, so she decided to take the rings off and put them on the jewelry holder in the dressing room. When we finally got done and she had made her choices on the clothing, we paid and left the store. There were a few more places we stopped at before heading home around 5 p.m. After we got home and had settled in for the evening, Taylor came in the living room to do her workout routine on the Wii. As she was finishing up, I heard this sharp intake of breath from her, and as I was looking up to see what was the matter, she was holding her hand and said, Oh no! Mom, I think I might have left my rings in the dressing room at Kohl's,"  I could see the look on her face was one of pure panic and dread. She immediately started getting tears in her eyes as she made a bee-line to her room to check in her purse to make sure she didn't put the rings in there.

Let me take a minute to tell you a little about these two rings of hers. One of those rings is a purity ring she has worn for the last few years now, which means a great deal to her and reminds her of a promise she made to the Lord to keep herself pure and save herself for marriage. The other ring, a diamond promise ring, is a very precious gift her boyfriend gave her on their one year anniversary of dating. These two rings mean so much to her and hold such deep sentimental value.

Getting back to the story now, Taylor and I both searched through her purse and didn't find the rings. I had already started praying as soon as she said she thought she might have left them at the store, so God's help was already being sought. After not finding the rings anywhere, I told Taylor I would call the store to see if anyone had found them and turned them in, or perhaps they could get an employee to check the dressing room where she was at. I spoke with a young man on the phone and told him what had happened. He said no one had turned in any rings, so I asked him if he could get someone to check the dressing room in the Juniors section where we were earlier. I told him the exact dressing room she had been in earlier so whoever was checking them could be sure to check that one. I was put on hold for a few minutes when he came back on the line and said the dressing rooms were checked and no rings were found. I must tell you right then is when my heart just about broke for Taylor. I know how much those rings mean to her. I left my phone number with him in case someone happened to turn the rings in.

Taylor was so upset and was sitting at the table crying. I felt so bad for her. My mama's heart just wanted to make things all better. I hated the thought that someone may have taken her rings and that she might never see them again. It was only a few minutes after I got off the phone with the guy from Kohl's when I really felt like we needed to go back down there and check for ourselves. I asked Taylor if she wanted to go back to the store and look, and she looked up at me with those tearful eyes and nodded yes. As we were on the way to Kohl's, which is about 35 minutes from our house, I don't think we said five words the whole time. I would later find out that all three of us, (me, Brittany, and Taylor) spent that whole time praying on the way to the store.

Once we arrived at the store, Taylor decided to go to the bathroom to check there while me and Brittany went over to the dressing rooms. As we walked over to that area I could see that someone was in the dressing room Taylor had used earlier, so I went ahead and checked the other rooms just to be sure. Isn't it kinda funny that when you're desperate to find out something, you always have to wait? That's what we did.....wait, and wait, and wait. The lady who was in the dressing room Taylor had used before was taking a really long time. It wasn't too long after we were standing there when this guy comes into the dressing room area with a stroller and three little ones. One of the little ones was fussy and crying for her mama. It was then that the lady in the dressing room called out the little girls name and opened the door a little to take the little girl. Well, not only did the little girl go in the dressing room, but the two little boys had to go too. The dad decided to sit down outside the dressing room area on this couch-type thing there in the middle of the area and wait for his wife to get done. I was thinking to myself, how in the world is she able to move around in there with all those kids in there, much less try on clothes. The dressing room isn't that big at all.

When this lady finally got done and she started to open the door I was straining my neck to see over in the corner of the dressing room. I had been praying the whole time, "God, please let those rings still be there." As soon as I got a clear view, I could tell the rings were still there. I was overjoyed!!! I immediately started thanking God and started towards the dressing room. I quickly said, "Excuse me" as I made my way past the lady and her little ones as they came out of the dressing room. I hurried into the dressing room and picked up Taylor's rings. I cannot tell you how excited I was that those rings were still there. The lady and her husband were still standing right in front of the dressing room trying to get the little ones together in the stroller. She could see that I was in a hurry to get into that dressing room for some reason, and she saw that I immediately grabbed the rings and how happy I was to have them. After I explained to her what had happened and that we had been hoping and praying the rings were still there, she told me I should have told her while she was in there that I needed to get in there. I told her that was okay, I was just glad the rings were still there. There was also another lady there in the dressing room area who was waiting for her daughter to come out and she heard Brittany and I thanking the Lord for the rings still being there. She gave us a big smile as we walked by.
 
After we got the rings we started anxiously looking around for Taylor. She didn't know we had found the rings. I told Brittany not to tell her we found the rings. I wanted to surprise her. Taylor was walking around the store to different places we had been earlier to make sure her rings weren't at any of those places, as well as checking customer service again.

Once we finally saw her, she was walking back down the main isle towards us. As we got to her I asked her if she had found out anything. She said no with this terrible look of disappointment on her face. I could barely contain myself! I knew that her sorrow and disappointment would soon turn to joy. I took the rings, which were safe and secure on the upper part of my ring finger on my right hand, and gave them to her. As I gave the rings to her I said, "There were still there baby." You should have seen the look on her face. It was priceless. She was shocked, happy, and relieved, all at the same time. She started crying and then I started crying and laughing. Brittany was so happy for her sister. She said, "That's a miracle that those rings were still there." I agree, completely. In this day and time, for those rings to still be in that dressing room is a God-thing.

I am so thankful that He cares about even the little things in our lives that maybe other people might not see as a big deal. Nothing is too small, or too big, for Him. I have no doubt that He kept those rings safe for Taylor. Thank You Father, for returning those rings to my baby girl!

Until next time my friends, be blessed!

“Blessings sometimes show up in unrecognizable disguises." ~Janette Oke

“Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.” ~Thomas Goodwin

“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”~Voltaire

“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He can deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, and pour out peace.” ~Ezra Taft Benson






2 comments:

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    1. Thank you Marcie! I love the happy ending too. We definitely needed it!

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