Valerie's Need

I have been praying for my daughter, Valerie again this morning. She has been on my heart and in my prayers constantly for the last week. She was at a park in Tacoma doing a photo shoot when someone picked the lock on her car, taking the purses of her and her partner as well as her computer bag with her computer and equipment.

Someone found Valerie’s license and 4 credit cards along side of the road, but nothing else has been recovered. Valerie had been editing my granddaughter’s wedding pictures on her computer and I’m sick that all her work has been lost. I’m been praying and believing that God will do a miracle and help us get back that computer.

This morning I was reading in the “Daily Bread” about thieves which stole nearly $5,000.00 in sound and office equipment from a church. The church people began to pray for the thieves and the next night they broke back into the church to return the equipment. It reminded me of a time when Valerie’s saxophone, along with other instruments, were stolen from our church and God helped us recover all of them. These stories encouraged me to not loose faith in Valerie’s situation.

God also brought to my mind an early morning about 9 years ago when I was awakened by the ringing of the phone. It was 4 a.m. and Don was calling from his job at Metro. “I need your help, honey,” he said. “I laid my bag on top of the truck while I opened the door and forgot to get it”, he continued. “There is some vital information in that bag I wouldn’t won’t to get into the wrong hands, so would you please go out along my route and see if you can spot it?”

I hurriedly got dressed and began the tedious process of scanning for the black bag. After an hour with no luck, I drove home praying all the way. “Father, please don’t let anyone take that bag that could exploit our credit or bring harm to us or our property,” I pleaded with tears forming in my eyes. When I walked up on the porch by my back door, there sat Don’s black bag. A note was attached from our paper carrier. “I found this bag about two blocks from here and looked inside for a name. I was relieved to recognize your name so I could get it back to you,” he had written.

I went inside to call Don and to spend some time thanking my heavenly Father for letting just the right person find our lost treasure.

After being reminded of answers to prayers in years past, I open up the Word and begin claiming God’s promises. “The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From His throne He observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts so He understands what they do.” Psalm 33:13-15 (NLB)
“The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17 (NLB)
“I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers.” Isaiah 65:24 (NLB)

Valerie recovering her equipment seems unlikely but I won’t stop praying and believing for that miracle. God knows who took it and where it is. He knows how much it is needed. I will continue to pray for the heart of the thief, and ask God to either lead us to the right place or use one of His people to recover it for us. I’ve made my request known and now I will rest in the peace of God’s will. “Don’t worry about anything: instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6(NLB)