"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1
It was one of those phone calls that you dread receiving as a parent. Just the tearful tone of hearing "MOM?" when I answered the phone last week instantly told me there was a problem and her following statement of "I've made a huge mistake and I'm so scared" confirmed my mother's instinct.
Through the tears, she told me of her need to take a cab back to her school. At the taxi stand, the quoted price was $10. However, upon arrival at the college, the cab driver doubled his price and demanded $20. Questioning and disputing the inflated price, her instincts kicked in to pay the man the $10 and exit the cab as quickly as possible and race toward her dorm. She was relieved when she saw a friend at the dorm entrance who let her in so didn't even need to look for her key. It wasn't until several hours later when American Express notified her that they stopped an online purchase for a Coach purse that she realized in her frenzy to get out of the cab, she had grabbed her purse, but she had left her backpack in the backseat of the taxi. To make matters worse, because her wallet was too large for the smaller purse she selected to use that day, she threw her wallet that contained all of her financial means and information into her backpack as well. In a matter of hours, her debit card was diminished while her credit cards were very busy having a shopping spree throughout the stores of New York City. As soon as the mistake was revealed, every effort was made to quickly stop the thieves doing any further damage to her identity and her finances. And with no driver's license, no identification, no debit or credit cards, and a social security number frozen with all three major credit reporting agencies, she painfully joked about feeling like a nobody with no identify.
Yesterday, in the church calendar, we began the season of Lent and focusing on all that Jesus has done for us through His journey to the cross. Through our faith in Him, we will never lose our identity, and we will always be called His child.
Have a wonderful Winter Break remembering whose you are and how much Jesus loves you!
In His love,
Mrs. Palka