Things I Learned from Being Burglarized

My husband's and my home was burglarized twice in a period 6 months during our first year of marriage.

There were many valuable things taken, but probably one of the most valuable things taken was my external hard drive.

The burglars had stolen my laptop too, and the hard drive was a back up of all my photos, stories, music, documents, etc. that were on my laptop.

It was all gone. 


Some things I were able to retrieve from cloud backups or emails or other people.  However, there were a lot of priceless bits of code on that hard drive that I would pay a lot of money to get back.

I have to admit, I'm still a bit angry.  I forgave the thieves for going through all of my clothes and dumping them all over.  I've forgiven the thieves for stealing every single piece of jewelry I owned, regardless of its worth.  I've forgiven the thieves for stepping on those new photo boxes I had just purchased and breaking them.  I've forgiven them for taking two of my laptops.  I've forgiven them for shaking my sense of security in a home that I barely knew.

Seven months later, I'm still having a hard time forgiving them for the hard drive. It's something I need to work on.  I need to learn to let go.

Before I got married, my home had been threatened by a fire and my family was forced to evacuate.  Before we got the orders, I had already started packing.  As a result, I got three times more things packed than the rest of my family.  I got ridiculously silly items stuffed into my car: my prom dress from high school, an autographed Princess Bride script, movie ticket stubs from dates with my boyfriend.  I'm not a pack-rat, but I am sentimental and I couldn't stand leaving those behind to burn.

My home was spared, but that little story gives a glimpse to my attachment/need for these material items.

That materialism, even if it is for the sentimental, has been diminished as a result of these burglaries.  Even despite it all, I'm beginning to slowly detach myself from these things.  I'm being forced to, I know. Perhaps that would be the only way I would ever learn.

And to the burglars out there, I hope that you used the money from our stuff to help your starving children.  And if you happen to read any of the stories on my hard drive or listen to any of the music, I pray God uses them to touch your lives.



Soli Deo Gloria.