"If I Only Had A Brain"

So, here is a perfect example of my "dumb-headedness."

I don't carry a purse. Primarily for the same reason I don't wear winter coats or snug clothing...I find them cumbersome, uncomfortable and lifestyle-cramping. Additionally, I have been known to set my purse down in public only to inadvertantly walk away from it. In recent years, I have taken to sticking my cash, debit cards, and driver's liscense into my pocket; however, this practice carries its own pitfalls...I often leave these items in my pockets and "lose" them temporarily. They always turn up - sometimes in the washer or dryer, sometimes on the basement floor, or occasionally in the pockets where I originally stashed and left them.

A couple of weeks ago, I lost my debit card again...it still hasn't turned up. Then Sunday, I lost something else...2 buttons from my shirt on the way to church. I had to borrow safety pins from 2 prepared mothers who, of all things, were carrying well-equipped purses. I decided it was high time for me to grow up and be a real, purse-totin' momma.

So...last night we went to dinner at Que Pasa restaurant on Watson Rd. and I carried a purse...which I, characteristically and unknowingly, left in the booth (the margarita had nothing to do with it!). The realization didn't hit me until this morning. Alright, no big deal...except...I had made some major returns yesterday and, in addition to my checkbook, debit and credit cards and MO D.L., my wallet contained nearly $400 CASH! No way to PROVE that, of course, and very easy to steal.

After multiple phone calls today and 2 trips to Que Pasa, I finally retrieved my purse. As the manager handed it to me, I stood there and opened it, wondering if I would have to file a police report on the missing cash...only to find every single dollar still present. I was simultaneously relieved and astonished...I even began to cry! What kind of society produces men and women who resist the temptation to take such a stash of cash, and decide instead to return it to its owner?! As bad as we sometimes think things have gotten, our culture still retains lingering evidences of Christianity. In London, you can't even set your purse down next to you in a restaurant without it disappearing. Several people handled my purse and not one of them succumbed to the temptation...amazing. Of course, being the good "Calvinist" I am, I certainly cannot discount the sovereign mercy of God in this circumstance. Fortunately, His care compensates for my lack of brains!