Curve Ball and Tender Mercies

I am keenly aware that although we may have control of some aspects of our lives, there are times when you least expect it that life can throw you a curve ball. Two days ago, my trust in mankind went down a notch when I discovered someone had trespassed on our property and had stolen from us.  As I was bringing in the garbage cans from the street, I discovered this:

Unit on the South side of our house

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. From a distance, I wondered if something had fallen off the roof and had demolished the air conditioner, but upon closer inspection, it looked more like it had been tampered with.  When I went to retrieve the last garbage can from the curb, I noticed my neighbor, Brett Carlson, who lives across the street heading toward his house after retrieving his mail. I asked if he would come and look at what I had discovered and give me his opinion on it. He looked over the scene and stated that he thought someone had disassembled the unit to steal the copper coil.  

I then remembered that we have two air conditioning units. I panicked at the thought that we had possibly been hit twice...which turned out to be the case. My heart sunk when I saw this:

Unit on the North side of our house

After this discovery, one of the first things I did was call Alan at work to let him know about the theft. He was as amazed as I was that this had occurred. I then called the sheriff's office to report the theft. It took over 3 hours, but they finally showed up at our home to make a report and look over the situation. A female from the sheriff's office came this morning to brush for finger prints, but she didn't seem too hopeful that she got much of value. She said the criminals usually wear gloves for jobs like this, not only to avoid leaving their finger prints, but also so they won't receive a shock or cut themselves.

On the bright side, yesterday I got a call from a different neighbor across the street, Charla Abbott, who is a Real Estate Broker. She had told me the day before that about 8 homes that she was aware of (mostly in East Lancaster) had air conditioning units burglarized just like us, but they were unoccupied homes that were for sale. We are all very surprised that we were hit, because our home is occupied. Anyway, Charla said that she received a phone call from the Sheriff's office telling her that they think they found the perps who have been dismantling all these air conditioning units. Evidently, a neighbor at one of the other locations had spotted a suspicious looking vehicle parked there, gave a description of the vehicle to the cops and an off-duty police officer recognized the vehicle from its description. When the car was pulled over, they found lots of A.C. & copper parts plus a magnetic sign they could attach to the car having to do with air conditioning repair. Evidently the perp was a man and his girlfriend who live in California City and they were on their way back home when they were pulled over. Thank goodness this couple was caught. I hope they can find lots of evidence that can pin them to all of these thefts, including ours, so that they can see how our justice system works close-up.

It just really annoys me that someone would go to this much trouble to steal and then sell our air conditioning parts to only get maybe $100 and we will have to pay $1,000 for our deductible before the insurance company will cover any of the loss.

It is amazing to me, however, that every day (if we are looking for them) we can look back and see the tender mercies that the Lord gives us even in times of trial. Although we are not happy that someone violated us in this manner, I am happy to know that the Lord was aware of our situation and put people in our path who could help us and comfort us.  For instance, Brett Carlson, my neighbor, was outside when I discovered the theft and was able to help me process the situation. Then, because he told the neighbor next to him, Charla Abbott, about it, she called me and told me about other houses with air conditioners that had also been dismantled and burglarized. She was able to give us some comfort and advice. Was this a coincidence? I don't think so. I think God was watching out for us. This was a tender mercy. This was God saying "I know what you are going through and I care so I have sent angels in the form of neighbors to help you." Although I don't know my neighbors well, I know now that I can trust them and that we will watch out for each other. I am grateful that there are still many good people like these around.

Another tender mercy is that it is winter right now and we don't need our air conditioners to be up and running. Things could be much worse. I am very grateful for the tender mercies God sends my way each and every day. 

In 2005, Elder David A. Bednar gave a talk in General Conference about the tender mercies of the Lord.  Here are a couple of quotes from his talk:

"The Lord's tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ."

"I repeat again, the Lord's tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord's timing helps us to recognize them."

Just A Walk (or ride) In The Park

Today was a beautiful January day here in Lancaster so Alan and I decided to get out of the house and into nature by taking our beach bikes to Apollo Park for some fun exercise. We like the path around Apollo Park because it is fairly flat and isn't much of a problem for my old legs to handle. The temperature was perfect today (around 60 degrees) and there was no wind...which is pretty much unheard of most of the time around here.  Although I believe that Apollo Park is one of the best kept secrets in the Antelope Valley, it was well attended today by those who wanted to fish, walk their dog, have a picnic, or simply take a nice leisurely walk. This is a nice place for families to gather to spend time together.

The park looks deserted, there many people enjoying it today.

So serene and peaceful!

Turning Twelve

The act of turning twelve is a pretty big thing in our LDS culture. At the age of twelve, the boys leave Primary, join the Young Men's Organization, and can get the priesthood while the girls leave Primary and join the Young Women's Organization.

My oldest grandson, Ethan, just turned twelve last week (Jan. 9, 2015). That makes him old enough to be ordained a Deacon in the Priesthood. Along with that ordination comes responsibilities such as passing the Sacrament each Sunday and gathering Fast Offerings. 

Isn't he a handsome 12 year old?

Eric ordained Ethan a Deacon on Sunday, January 11th, so Ethan is now officially a holder of the Aaronic (or lesser) Priesthood. I am very proud of Ethan for his desire to progress in the gospel and take on the responsibility of  being a priesthood holder.