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The night before it happened, I was reading a Bible Promise Book topic on love, such as God's Love and Loving God. I was thinking and feeling synacal thoughts, like I have before, asking something like, "What is love anyway? Ssince God allows suffering, and tells us no, we can't have something we want, and tells us we need to die to self and say no to the things of this world, and He always loves us, maybe love isn't something I would want, even if there's no more suffering for eternity."

then it seems that He reminded me of how we as children can beg our parents to buy us those little plastic toys that soon break. We think that those things we want will make us feel better, even though we know they won't last. I once read a story that went something like this: a little boy and his mom were in a store. The boy was pleading with Mom to buy one of those things, even after she warned him that it would break easily. "Okay," she finally said, "But it will probably break." Then, as they got out of the car at home, sure enough, it broke! "See, I told you," she said. To which he wailed, "Don't listen to me, I'm just a kid!"

I remember, the next morning, sitting at the mental health day treatment I attend four days a week as I pondered this truth about breakable earthly things. Later, I got up to use the rest room, carrying my mug with a handle to get water. Before I left the group room, someone tried to squeeze past me. You guessed it, I dropped the cup. It made a clattering noise, and the lid came off. Though the cup and lid themselves weren't broken, the handle came off. this was a special mug you can take to a gas station and get a soda for much less than at a drive-in, and I had it for maybe three years plus. A gentle object lesson huh? And now that prayer request for stolen goods, including a Victor Reader! Surely The Lord is sending a message here!