After the show there was a mass exit. Crowds and crowds of people were walking back to their cars. It felt like we were cattle being herded down the long windy ramp, under the bridge then up the stairs and onto the parking lot. When we first got outside we walked a bit before I found a spot where I could stop to put Maddie's sweater on her. I set down my bags and purse and grabbed the sweater. After I put it on her I grabbed the bags and Maddie's hand and off we went on the looong, claustrophobic walk to the car. We made it to the car and as I reached for my keys I realized my purse was missing! My heart nearly stopped....my keys, my wallet, my phone, my expensive camera...all in my missing purse! My mom stayed at the car while Madison and I ran through the crowds of people. We got to the stairs (remember cattle being herded) I held Maddie in my arms, stuck to the rail and kept saying "excuse me" with every passing bewildered person. We completed the stairs then ran together under the bridge. As we got to another set of stairs I told Madison to pray. "Madison, pray! Pray 'Dear God, please help mommy find her purse" So again and again, with each step we repeated this prayer. I've got to say that I could actually envision my brown purse at this point. I knew we'd find it. We got to the door and told the lady at the door that I left my purse. She directed me to the desk to our left. As we approached the desk there it was...my brown purse! There was a lady and a policeman with it. They asked me what kind of phone I had. "um, Motorola?" Lady: "okay, well, what color is it?" Me "it's pink and it has her picture on it!" Officer "you should have "husband" with your husbands number in your phone" Me "what you didn't know that 'My Love" was my husband?" The officer had called my dad but my phone had died in the middle of the conversation. He told me I better call him on his phone so he is not worried about me. I checked my purse...everything was still there! They said that a man had come from outside and returned it to the desk. That was it! When I stopped to put Madison's sweater on her I must have grabbed my bags but not my purse.
Together, Madison and I made the long trek back to the car thanking God for hearing our prayers and for the honest gentleman who returned my purse! We also talked about Madison's favorite parts of the show. "I like Aerial, mommy! But she didn't have a tail. She had skates." Long pause. "I'm sorry mommy, there was no Nemo". I can live without Nemo. My purse...my Sanyo phone well, I'm not sure I could live without those!
This morning Madison wanted to start coloring her new Disney coloring book but we could not find her bag with colors in it. I found some other colors but they were old and broken. She looks at the old broken ones and looks at me and says "Mommy, can we ask God for my bag of colors?" So we prayed and asked God to help us find Madison's colors. I checked the closet and there it was...in the container that held her play dough . (It's usually on her desk).
My feet are sore from last night. I'm tired from not being able to sleep because of all the adrenaline. But you know what? I don't care because my daughter learned that there is a God that hears her when she prays and He cares about what concerns us...whether it be a lost purse or lost colors.
