The Importance of a Little Pink Dot

Hello Teddy Bears! I have missed our conversations. I want to share a story that happened to me a couple years ago. I went to get some things from my storage unit, only to find that it had been ransacked and burglarized. I was upset but really didn’t know what was missing since I do not keep inventory of everything that is put into storage. Maybe I should though? The unit was a mess. I felt so violated as I looked at pictures, papers, keepsakes, and just “my stuff” in general strewn all over the floor. Then, it hit me as I saw a small box containing a few cups that go with my punch bowl set. I say, “my punch bowl set”, but it was originally my Mom’s and had been passed down to me. It had seen many bridal and baby showers way back when disposable dishes were not used. I frantically searched around for the rest of the set. No, it was not there. My heart sank even deeper than before as tears flowed uncontrollably. Why did they have to take that? It was not worth big money, but it was worth so much to me. I love to keep things that have been special in my life (my children say that I am a hoarder). I knew that there must be other things missing, but I had no idea what. I left and went home, heartbroken. As I was telling a friend about what happened the next day, she told me that she had heard of another unit that had been broken into, and some of the things from it were found at a flea market close by. I started investigating and could only find one flea market and it was only open on weekends. I took a chance and went on the next Saturday. I browsed through many different areas. I had almost given up hope when I saw an old milk/cream can. I knew it was from my unit because my sister had done some decoupage on it. Obviously it was one of a kind! My heart began to race and my hands were shaking. I looked around more. There was a tub of Teddy Bears from my collection! My head began to spin. What else? I looked more. There was the punch bowl! I took it off the shelf and looked on the bottom. Sure enough, there was a dot of pink fingernail polish. You see, way back in the day that my Mom used this punch set for showers, other ladies from the community would also bring theirs so that there would be enough to serve all the guests. My Mom had marked hers so that it would not mistakenly be put with someone else’s set. I put the bowl back on the shelf and exited the flea market. I had to. I was overwhelmed with emotions. Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, the police were able to get my things back, at least what I identified as mine. When the police confronted the owner, he said, “It must be hers. It has the pink dot.” This was a very traumatic experience for me, but I got back what was mine because my things had been marked. You know, I bet God feels the same way about us. Just as my punch set was precious to me, we are even more precious to God. Sometimes we get lost or led astray and it may seem that we have let pieces of our life get strewn about, but God never gives up on us. He has marked us, but instead of a pink dot, he has marked us with white. Jesus gave his life so that we can be marked white; washing us free from sin. My prayer for you is to never rid yourself of God’s mark. Let it show and may you never be lost.