A different wedding prayer

A few weekends ago I went with the Culver-Stockton College concert choir to sing at an alumna's wedding in Columbia, Mo. For weeks we practiced "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" in preparation for the wedding. We were ready to perform and were excited to be part of the couple's special day.

We got to the church Saturday afternoon to practice with the string quartet. The church was gorgeously decorated and had perfect acoustics. Our voices rang in the ceiling and bounced off of the walls. Performing in a space like that makes performing fun and so rewarding. After practicing, we had a few hours to walk around Columbia and shop before changing into our dresses in our designated Sunday school room.

We performed at the beginning of the couple's wedding ceremony, and our voices reminded me of angels. It was a serene moment and truly indescribable. After the service, we returned to our Sunday school rooms to find our purses unzipped with our wallets on top. We quickly discovered all of our cash missing. The perpetrators had been through the boys' dressing room as well. Their wallets were taken out of their pant pockets. The only thing missing from their wallets: cash. We had been in the sanctuary of the church for 20 minutes, and the perpetrator has gotten away with over $700 in cash. How could anyone have done this?

At that moment in time, I did not know what else to do except cry. So... I cried. I did not care about the money that I had lost. I felt invaded. I did not want to touch my purse, especially my wallet. It seemed dirty to me. I kept visualizing a stranger's hand thumbing through my purse and invading my space. I felt so sick to my stomach.

After the initial shock, I turned to God, and I prayed. I did not pray for my money back or pray for the police to catch the perpetrators. I prayed for the perpetrators. I felt bad for them. I have never been robbed, so I have never really thought about those who steal to survive. Fortunately, I have never been in a situation where I needed to steal to survive, but this really opened my eyes. My heart goes out to those in need, and not a day has gone by since then that I do not think of those in that very situation and pray.

Please do not forget about those in need and pray for them every day. I now do!