Inconvenience

I was scrambling to get Bethie out the door to the gym. The kids had been playing down the street, and just as it was time to leave, they ran up to inform me that they had found a wallet. I quickly checked to see if there was some form of ID and then checked my watch to figure out how late we'd be if I called the police right away.

We'd definitely be late.

Huffing and puffing in frustration, I ran back into the house. I looked up the number for the police department and handed it to Drew. "Can you take care of this? We're gonna be late."

He gladly took responsibility, but when he called he received a message that it was after hours.

By this time I was too frazzled to think clearly. Bethie had to be at the gym in less than ten minutes, I had no idea what to make for dinner, the house was a wreck, and Miss Kate entered the room wearing her sixth outfit for the day. I tossed up my hands and said, "I can't think about this right now. Wait 'til Dad gets home." It was definitely a Scarlett moment.

Out we stormed to the gym. I'm not quite sure what came over me. (My sin nature, perhaps?) But all I could think about on that drive was how inconvenient it was to have a responsibility thrust upon me that I didn't ask for. Why didn't the kids just leave it in the road for someone else to take care of? Good grief.

When we finally arrived home, Jamie instructed Drew to call 911 and explain the situation. I was proud of my son. He made the call without hesitation.

We didn't know it at the time, but when Drew's name appeared on the police computer, a friend of ours recognized his name and eagerly offered to take the call. He arrived on the front porch, in uniform, of course, and the kids were ecstatic.

This alone was enough to make me realize that inconveniences are not always such a bad thing. I recall Howard Hendricks saying that "human interruptions are often divine invitations." Well, this interruption was an invitation to see my son behave responsibly and enjoy the pleasure of watching my kids interact with a friend in uniform.

It was at this point in the evening that I sat down to write this little post. I intended for it to end right about here. But the Lord had other plans.

Somewhere after the third or fourth paragraph was written, the children called me in, ready for their bedtime story. We were just finishing the last page when I heard a soft knock at the door. It was our officer. He shared with us that the owner of the wallet was extremely grateful to have it returned, and asked if the boy who found it could be given the $20 it contained.

Drew was pleased, but not as pleased as I was a few minutes later when he said, "You know, Mom, this really should be all of ours." I raised my eyebrows, wondering what he had in mind. "I'm not the only one who found it." He quickly gave a little math lesson to his siblings, explaining how they could each get $5 out of the deal.

My kids are all pretty busy right now, mentally spending their big bucks. And I'm busy too. I'm busy thanking God that this post has an even better ending than I had envisioned, and that what I see as an inconvenience, He sees as an opportunity to help my children grow.