The Story of the Rings

I didn't tell this story earlier because
A. It was too painful to talk about
B. I didn't know how the story ended
C. I felt dumb because my mind was so fuzzy that I couldn't remember how it all started

But here goes --

We have been painting. A lot. Some wall painting (which is kind of fun) but mostly kitchen cabinet painting -- priming, painting, then changing the color and repainting. Lots of fun (that was said, dripping in sarcasm). I pretty much never take my wedding ring and mother's ring off. Put for painting I decided to. Saturday night I took them off and put them in this little hidden cubby place on our old dinosaur of a stereo that we had taken over to the new house so we had some music to listen to. It was sort of part of the handle but the rings were hidden from view and safe from being bumped or splattered or lost.

I accidentally left my rings there, but Eric went to retrieve them on Sunday after church. All was well.

Fast forward to Wednesday. I looked down and realized that my rings are not on my fingers. But I wasn't really surprised, I had painted Monday and Tuesday -- I figured they were at the house again. When we went there to paint again, I couldn't find them. Nor could I remember exactly where I put them. I had these vague shadows of memories -- taking them off in the car, taking them off and putting them in the stereo cubby, taking them off and putting them on the table. But I just couldn't seem to visualize or remember where the LAST place I had them was. What was wrong with me? It was like my brain was clouded over -- was it too much paint fumes?

That is when the intense praying began. I had to be able to remember where they went!! Thursday I decided to fast and pray for help in recovering my rings. That morning I went over to the house again. The "Tile Guy" was there. I noticed that my radio was on loud (blaring rock music) -- soooo he was using my stereo. Interesting. I asked him if he had seen the rings. He said no, but mentioned that they had picked up and moved my stereo into the bathroom where they were tiling. Hmmmmmm. So if if my rings had been in the stereo they could be anywhere now...including, possibly stolen. I was sick. But I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Or I tried not to. Since I wasn't SURE where I had put them, how could I be sure they had been in the house and now they were gone.

It was a dark day for me. I was so upset. Depressed even. I was mean and snappy to everyone and felt hopeless. We searched everywhere -- both cars and both houses over and over. At the end of the day I felt like I would never smile again. I know they were just physical possessions (it wasn't a lost child or a fatal illness) but they were my most prized possessions. So I mourned their loss. That night I asked Eric to give me a priesthood blessing. It didn't help me find my rings, sadly, but it did bring me peace and calm so that I could move on with my life. I knew that if the Lord wanted me to find my rings, it would happen....on his timetable. And if I wasn't going to find my rings....I would be okay and could move on.

The days went on. No sign of the ring. No memory returned of where they were. I prayed daily that I would have some spark or rememberance OR if they were stolen that whoever took them would have their conscience pricked and they would feel guilty and return them. While I hadn't entirely given up hope, I didn't really expect to find them.

Then yesterday I went to the house and my contractor said, "Do you want the good news or the bad news?" I told him that I didn't think I could handle anymore bad news. We had had SO many things go wrong with our remodel -- wrong sink color, no door to the shower, misplaced soap dish, wrong countertop picked out, wrong paint color, on and on. Not to mention the lost rings. I think he saw the despair in my face. He held out his hands and they were holding my rings!!!!! I think I was in shock. He told me that the tile guys had vacuumed out a vent and had found the rings. My brain's first thought was, "Yeah, right they did. I bet they just decided to return their stolen goods." But that was unkind of me since I really had no facts to back up my suspicions. I hope that they truly did just find my rings. That they were so interested in helping me find my rings that they decided to search my vents and vacuum them out to find them. But even if they DID steal them and decide to return them, that took guts and was an honest thing to do. That is what I had been praying for. So either way it was a great blessing and a miracle. I am so happy!!!

Oh, by the way, the bad news was that the wrong countertop edge arrived so they have to reorder and couldn't finish my countertop yesterday like they were supposed to. We move in tomorrow. I was not happy about that, but was too happy about my rings to be really upset.

And that is The Story of the Rings. My faith in mankind and the Lord has been strengthened through this experience. The End.