The Georgian Police Found Me 5 Hours Away

If being robbed and sharing the greatest love story known to man had been the end of the story, I would have been okay. I assumed my laptop was gone with the wind and I never expected to see it again. I would have peace knowing they can take my laptop, my writing and my money… but they can’t take my peace. I would have joy knowing God was glorified in the middle of my storm, and confidence that my joy does not rest in my circumstances. But, God continues to amaze me and leave me in awe at the work of His hand.

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February 22, 2020

After spending one week in Kutaisi, my team and I took a train to Tbilisi to meet up with the squad for debrief & then Parent Vision Trip (you best believe Lynne & Wallace came to visit me!!).

It was in Tbilisi where we received a phone call from the Kutaisi Police station stating they had caught the thief and now had my laptop.

SHOCKED would be an understatement. After hours and hours of prayer, I had released all anger, sadness and fear. I drew near to the Father and He drew nearer to me (James 4:7), and that was more than enough for me. To no longer have anything to defend or protect, nothing to lose and everything to give, I had peace. And yet, when we come to the end of ourselves is when the good stuff starts happening.

With an abrupt halt to the rejoicing, the Kutaisi Police vehemently insisted I needed to come to the station to pick up the laptop and complete the police report. Kutaisi is 5 hours away by train, and we were in the middle of debrief: I was leading worship, taking squad headshots, attending sessions and meetings, preparing for our parents’ arrival, dodging corona virus, and all kinds of other stuff I just couldn’t miss; there were no overnight trains, so I simply didn’t have the time.

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February 27, 2020

After exhausting my resources and ideas, the Kutaisi Police offered to drive out to Tbilisi. At 10am on our only day off, the police arrived at the hostel in Tbilisi in an unmarked sedan. The two police officers and the translator came out to greet me and I rode with them to the Tbilisi police station to finish the paperwork. While there, they proclaimed, “we are the best police officers in Georgia!”. They were certainly proud and I was undeniably thankful!

In wanting to preserve their self-proclaimed title as *best police officers west of the Caspian*, they asked if I had ever filed a police report before. With great hesitation, I admitted yes. To their surprise and curiosity, I threw caution to the wind and I told them the story of how I had been assaulted a year ago. Every officer within earshot put out their cigarette to come closer to decipher my English as I told them how I had faced yet another trial riddled with fear, sadness and anger. I described how the Lord was glorified in my suffering, leaving me with an unexplainable and all-consuming peace.

I laughed. I was now in the middle of the Police Station in Tbilisi, Georgia telling the police officers about Jesus (again).

The Police officers asked, how could I still smile? Wasn’t I afraid? Was the man ever caught? How can you believe in a God when these hard things happen? You were assaulted and now robbed and you are still joyful?

I shrugged my shoulders and said: being a child of God is a free pass to be brave & bold & joyful, to take great risks & spin around in circles of JOY, because I know He is good. I know heartbreak and struggle aren’t the end of my story. I know what the enemy meant for evil, God uses for good.

Hardships will come. And when they do, I get to see a new side of God; not in spite of the darkness, but because of it. I’ve had my fair share, so I don’t say this with ignorance or naivety.

I had reached fever pitch – all-consuming, obsessive, frantic fear – and then I prayed. And the prayers didn’t necessarily heal the situation or the relationship or the loss, but they healed me. They removed any authority the thief or offender had taken over my life. The prayers reclaimed peace and power and SAFETY, for the opposite would be paying the piper, spending energy and mental space not on healing, but on imagined vindication. I would be deferring my own peace and the only loss would be mine.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s holy and hard work to say to God: here’s my sad thing. It’s all Yours to fix or mend or redeem or simply bear witness. I’m prying my hands off it and freeing them up for other work. I bury what I wanted and accept what I have (thanks, Hannah Brencher).

And somehow, here I am: at the point where I wish my offenders well and desire peace for them. I carry less angst and am not caught in the grip of as much turmoil. And, He wants that for you, too. The human heart is shockingly resilient and we get to be a part of this big encompassing campaign to love humanity all the way Home. Earth is essentially Forgiveness School (thanks, Anne Lamott) and I’m pulling up a chair.

Here are the heroes of this story (& the sweet Dell laptop… although devastatingly & completely wiped): 

I moved church outside the building walls and right into the Police station to let His Name be known even here, even now. 

Join me in prayer: Lord, my hands are open; they are ready & willing for whatever you may have. Give me to courage to respond in radical obedience and help me to offer faith instead of fear, hope instead of despair, peace instead of division. Make me an agent of reconciliation: full of forgiveness, truth and responsibility, simultaneously honoring both mercy and justice. Thank you that we get to be part of the greatest love story known to man; we get to be vessels of Your love