God takes away and gives
Ok, lots has been happening with me. In the last two weeks I've been to Taipei twice and to Hualian twice (each an hour and a half away), so that's about 12 hours of train time...15 actually if you include my trip to Yuli (another hour and a half). And of course to get to the train station I've had to ride my bike. Once I get to the station I park it among a hundred other bikes, mostly belonging to students and other travelers. But for some reason on the last trip, I came back to discover my bike was nowhere to be found!! I looked up and down the parking lot with two bags and in sweltering heat, and wasn't able to find it. I ended up taking a taxi home.
I was frustrated to the point of tears. This is my second bike that has been stolen in Yilan. And it's just really inconvenient to have no transportation. I called someone to pick me up for my evening class and shared what had happened with them. At the end of the class, as I was thinking about one more train ride I'd need to take the next day, I said jokingly - "so if anyone here has an old bike they want to sell me, let me know -- the uglier the better! maybe that way it won't get stolen."
But the amazing thing is that one of my students suddenly piped up that actually he did have one! Since he has a car and a scooter he never rides a bicycle, and it was actually given to him by a former student of mine who'd had a heart attack (my evening classes are adult students in case you hadn't figured that out) and couldn't ride anymore. So after class we went over to check it out. Actually it's not ugly at all, it's a really nice bike! Hopefully I'll have a chance to take a picture of it before it gets stolen :P So in the course of 12 hours I lost and gained a bike.
And for the record it WAS locked. When I tell people my bike was stolen, they always say to me "You shoulda locked it." OF COURSE I locked it!! You'd have to be crazy not to lock your bike when parked at a busy train station overnight. Anyways, that's my bike story. Reminds me of a verse:
Don't store up treasures on earth where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, instead store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...
I was frustrated to the point of tears. This is my second bike that has been stolen in Yilan. And it's just really inconvenient to have no transportation. I called someone to pick me up for my evening class and shared what had happened with them. At the end of the class, as I was thinking about one more train ride I'd need to take the next day, I said jokingly - "so if anyone here has an old bike they want to sell me, let me know -- the uglier the better! maybe that way it won't get stolen."
But the amazing thing is that one of my students suddenly piped up that actually he did have one! Since he has a car and a scooter he never rides a bicycle, and it was actually given to him by a former student of mine who'd had a heart attack (my evening classes are adult students in case you hadn't figured that out) and couldn't ride anymore. So after class we went over to check it out. Actually it's not ugly at all, it's a really nice bike! Hopefully I'll have a chance to take a picture of it before it gets stolen :P So in the course of 12 hours I lost and gained a bike.
And for the record it WAS locked. When I tell people my bike was stolen, they always say to me "You shoulda locked it." OF COURSE I locked it!! You'd have to be crazy not to lock your bike when parked at a busy train station overnight. Anyways, that's my bike story. Reminds me of a verse:
Don't store up treasures on earth where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, instead store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...
Good story. I'm glad you have a "new" bike and I hope you get to keep it in your posession for a long time. :) And it's encouraging to see God's hand in the midst of your situation too. How thankful you are!
ReplyDeleteLuv Carmen