As I sit here and reflect on last weeks event I am reminded of God’s grace we’re all given every single day! To whom much graces is given much grace is required!

For those of you who have not seen my social media or even know the story of my wallet being stolen I want to share it with you here. Last Tuesday after I picked my girls up from school we stopped by the Dollar General to grab two packs of gum.  When we went in we decided there were too many fun things to look at so we went around and shopped for more deals. Wow, 3 boxes of cereal were only $6 and some other fun items we snagged just because we were having fun. So up to the counter we went and things were a little distracting with the girls both wanting to hold their own packs of gum and so I laid my wallet up on the top of the shelf to get out my credit card to pay. I then put it back, but had to sign the receipt on the counter so I totally forgot to then take my wallet from the shelf and just grabbed my bags and girls and we were on our way home. I even got home and was making dinner when I went to put something in my purse I realized my wallet wasn’t in my purse. I retraced my steps and the only thing I could think of is I left it at Dollar General. I have never left my purse or wallet anywhere ever,  so I called the store and they told me no wallet was turned in.  I got my kids in the car and drove back into town to talk to the manager. He was so helpful and we went into his office to review the surveillance video around the time I was there and checking out. I hate that my daughters had to see this woman take my wallet right in front of their eyes. They saw her snatched it and put it right in her purse without a care in the world. She had even blocked the cashier from seeing the wallet with a tall pack of toilet paper until he was not looking and then she snatched the wallet quickly and even put things over it in her purse so no one could see. In the meantime I asked if I could take a video of the surveillance video and he gave me permission to do so. We had the Bedford County Sheriffs Department there with us as well. I asked if it would be okay if I shared the video on my Facebook and a shot of the woman in case someone knew who she was. What we didn’t realize was that the video would go Viral in less than 5 hours the video had over 750 Shares and over 60,000 views! This to me was an example of the power of social media. I called my husband in shock and he got on the phone with our 8 credit cards in my wallet to cancel all of them which took us all night! I cried, worried, was upset but more importantly I felt a peace over me and this situation. I had faith that my wallet would be returned because this video was getting so much feedback and shares someone had to know this woman. Thanks to all those that shared the video and to the News for running this whole story.

My friend Matt from church sent me a message which also comforted my spirit saying, “Sorry to see you had your wallet stolen today. When I saw this video I was reminded of all the instances in the Bible where people were tested by the traction before they had moments of greatness. There are many instances of people overlooking  their distractions and succeeding and many examples of failure. Long story short I believe the Lord was pushing you into something totally unrelated to your wallet getting stolen. So don’t be distracted. ” For me this word really hit home and helped remind me to stay focused on my faith and what God was showing me in all of this. We all have huge distractions that come our way but remember to look past them because there is a story waiting to be revealed in everything. God always wins.

So the next morning I get a Facebook message from ABC 13 News asking if they could come over and get details on my story of the stolen wallet. I had 30 minutes to get ready and they were at my house. I shared a ton of things and more about my faith than what they could put into a 2 minute News interview but I did say that if the woman would turn in the wallet I would not press charges against her. I do know that since I said that and I am a woman of my word I would be held accountable to that very statement. So that night we went to Wednesday night church at All Peoples Church and I had my pastor, Jeff Crawford pray over me that I would get my wallet back. We got home and of course I wasn’t tired because I was still holding onto the fact my wallet just had to come back. I went to get my night clothes on and wash my face and it’s even interesting that I picked out my Freedom shirt to wear to bed that night. So we are down watching the recording of This is us from the night before and my phone had a missed call at 11PM from a Bedford number that I didn’t recognize. I listened to the voicemail and it was the Bedford’s Sherriff department calling to say we have good news and we have your wallet. I called back immediately and guess what the sheriffs brought my wallet back that very evening at 11:30PM. I was over the moon excited and felt I should make a video sharing my heart on how God was apart of this whole story and so my hubby recorded me sharing about this story on my couch. (He doesn’t like social media but was recording my video so this is even God)

The two sheriffs were fabulous men with brave hearts, who work hard to keep us protected and I was so grateful to have them in our home. We shared, laughed and celebrated the wallet return. They said this is the fastest return of anything stolen ever. They were mind blown at even this event and how God really did allow social media, the news, and them to get this information out to a woman that was able to have a huge Come to Jesus moment and return my wallet. I then posted my video sharing about Grace and forgiveness for this woman who had done the wrong thing but then chose to make things right.

I was also reading The Esther Anointing book by Michelle McClain-Walter a friend had given me the very next day that confirmed for me to just have faith God was at work. This is a passage directly from my reading, “We cannot see the end of things from the middle, and we must walk by faith, not by sight. the Lord will bring a greater good, His perfect plan, out of all the frustration we feel and out of all the evil we experience. When all is said and done, God uses even injustice to fulfill His promises to us. God is present in every scene and in the movement of every event, until He ultimately and finally brings everything to a marvelous climax as He proves Himself Lord of His people.”  If this wasn’t exactly what God was about to make happen, His story!

I woke up with a joy in my heart and got another call from the ABC 13 News saying we have to come hear about the wallet return and share this on the News. (NEWS SEGMENT LINK) I had the busiest day ever so I had them meet me at a styling photoshoot I was apart of that morning for a wonderful company called Fracture. I shared my heart and my prayer is that this will impact more people than I can even imagine. I write this to give you hope that when we extend grace to others it will unlock the door to freedom and redemption in others lives. I feel confident that the next time this woman is tempted to sin she will have the Holy Spirit stop her dead in her tracks and she will be able to remember the day she was extended a chance to choose life and not death. Listen I promise you every thing we do is seen by God so even if you think she is getting away with something she isn’t and never will just like all of us. Next time your tempted to sin remember this story and how you too can choose the right path and decision.