My daughter and I experienced a frightening moment yesterday and I have been debating whether or not to share it with you. I decided that I would in the hopes that it might prevent you from experiencing the same thing.
My husband and I and our two teenage children went out to lunch after church yesterday. The restaurant is located in one of our local hotels. As the four of us were leaving the restaurant and entering the lobby of the hotel, a waiter from the restaurant called my name as I had left my credit card on the table. My daughter stayed back with me while I retrieved it and my son and husband kept walking. By the time I had gotten my card, they were quite a distance in front of us.
As my daughter and I were walking to the escalator which would take us to the parking ramp, I noticed a man getting on the escalator. I wondered for a split second why he hung back and didn't just get on. He then got on, then my daughter and then me. There were two steps between he and my daughter and I was behind her. What I didn't know was that another man got on the escalator right behind me. When we reached the top of the escalator the man in front of us dropped a handful of change and blocked our exit off as he stooped to pick it up. My daughter and I were trying to figure out how we weren't going to knock him over when I felt someone pushing me from behind. At that moment my daughter shouted that the man behind me had his hand in my purse. I snatched my purse away as he denied it while we tripped over the man in front of us.
The rest is a bit of a blur, but I did start shouting for my husband who came back and took off to get help. I saw the two men talk to each other and then they split up and left. I do not know if they were caught or not. I'm not missing anything from my purse. I have been thanking the Lord all day that we are safe and that we were not hurt. My daughter has had a difficult day. I've been a bit numb. Your mind goes, unfortunately, to what could have happened and I'm choosing to stay focused on the facts.
What I do know is that God gives us intuition in many situations. We must train ourselves to act on those moments when we know something is not quite right. I should have acted on the uncomfortable feeling I had before getting on the escalator. My daughter told me that she saw the second man get on behind me and that she had uncomfortable eye contact with him and wished she would have said something to me. I don't know why I didn't scream when I felt the man on me but am thinking that perhaps it was best I didn't, for our safety, but only God knows the answer to that.
I pray that you will be aware of your surroundings in a new way and that you will learn something valuable from us.
Be blessed,
"When I am afraid, I will trust in You." - Psalm 56:3
