A Little Thief in the Church Basement

An Excerpt from Reflection No. 3 of Wide-Eyed Wonder

When I was 4 or 5 years old, I became a little thief. I ventured down the crooked steps into the scary basement of that old church to use the bathroom after the church service. And there it was! A beautiful, fragrant, hot pink Air Wick® placed in a pint jar on the ledge above the sink. I could hardly believe my good fortune! Though I had heard “Thou shalt not steal” every Sunday of my life, I never gave it a thought as I pulled that Air Wick® out of the jar and placed it in my little purse.

That delight, however, was short lived. On the seven-mile drive home from church, the intense fragrance of that Air Wick® wafted through the car. “What is that horrible smell?” inquired my dad. With reluctance I pulled my hot pink treasure from my purse. He grabbed it from me and threw it out the window.

I do not remember that I was scolded for stealing the Air Wick®. I do not remember how I felt about it being thrown out the window. But I remember my short-lived joy in discovering something unbelievably beautiful and claiming it as my own. Looking back at that little girl in that moment, I celebrate her joy in discovering what was beautiful in her eyes and her spontaneity in seizing the moment. I still steal moments of delight as I watch our children, now adults, who have grown into creative, loving, responsible people. I steal moments of delight in the raucous noise of the grandchildren around the table at family mealtimes on Sunday nights. I steal moments of delight listening to the nighttime songs of the crickets. I steal moments of delight listening to my husband’s breath slow into sleep. I steal moments of delight as I hang clothes on the line to dry. Oh, I am still that thief, grabbing moments of pure delight and storing them in the purse of my heart.