Darkness broke in, but light prevailed

I overthink everything.

I worry a lot.

Seriously.

Headache = brain tumor. WebMD is my enemy.

I can be pretty cynical and negative.

But not that day; the day that man and woman broke into our apartment all I could think about was how blessed we were.

Where did that positivity come from? It certainly wasn't me. Why wasn't I dwelling on how they took nearly all my jewelry and both of our (film and digital) cameras? They stole Sam's watches and his pedal board. Why wasn't I more upset that they tore apart our home and disturbed our lives?

All I could think about was how blessed we were. That feeling, that peace, came from the One who gave us everything we have. God was comforting me on the day when I needed Him the absolute most.

I was so thankful that even though, as far as I'm aware, we were in the apartment at the same time, I never saw them. I only saw the window open and things missing.

I'm thankful that I took my laptop to work that day. Something I never do.

I'm thankful that I have a husband who is apparently intimidating enough to scare two people off. I'm glad that the sound/scream that came from him when he came home and opened the door to see them standing there has since left my mind. 

I'm thankful I have a husband who did what he could. He grabbed the woman's backpack and told her he wasn't giving it back. She was dumb enough to tell Sam that her friends lived there and they were in the laundry room. You know, all while she was pulling some of our clothes out of the backpack and throwing them on the ground. She left without the backpack.

I'm thankful they were dumb enough to look through the Xbox box, but didnt see the actual Xbox sitting next to the TV, not plugged in or anything.

I'm thankful that about five our neighbors came out to see what was going on. One let me stand in her apartment (never met her before), while I was on the phone with the police and the guys were seeing if they could find any sign of the man and woman.

I'm thankful that they left behind the mason jar full of cash we had been saving; more cash than what they could get from selling all the stuff they stole. How they didn't see it, I'll never know. The word "miracle" comes to mind. Yay God!

I'm thankful they didn't steal our social security cards. They stole some of Sam's checks, but just trashed them and kept the cheap wallet they were in.

I'm thankful for all the love and prayers we received from friends and family after posting it on Facebook. I'm particularly thankful for one family who offered for us to come spend the night with them and when we declined, they then offered to come sleep on our couch so we could get some sleep. 

I'm thankful that even though the police didn't show up until nine hours later, he still showed up. He didn't give us a hard time for leaving our window slightly open for some air circulation.

I'm thankful for my colleagues at work who wanted to make sure I was OK. They shared their own experiences so I knew I wasn't alone.

I'm thankful for my apartment manager who fixed our window screen immediately, then installed another lock on our back door, and window stoppers on every window. They even fixed the lights on the back part of our outside hallways. We live in the very back, so it gets really dark. 

And most of all, I'm thankful no one was hurt. Some have said how they would have tackled the guy who had most of the stuff or done this differently. Blah blah blah. They can have whatever they want, so long as everyone stays safe.

See how many things we have to be thankful for! If anything, my heart breaks for the two who broke in. How can one be so disconnected from everything that when they see the pictures we have on our walls and the life we have built, they still don't care that they are stealing from people who have worked hard for what they have. 

While I have so many things to be thankful for, this was just the push I needed to get out of there. Come May, we're hoping to be out of the apartment and moving into a house somewhere in Tower or downtown. 

This post is long overdue. It feels good to finally get this down in words.
Thanks for all the prayers and love you given us!