Right before Christmas my daughter came home and wouldn’t stop talking about this girl at school that stole her dimpl. For those thinking this refers to an indention in the cheek when you smile, let me introduce you to the world of fidgets. Fidget toys have been a craze with young people for the past several years, starting with the fidget spinner. Em, our daughter, has an extensive collection – as do many of her friends.

It seems the industry finds ways to develop new fidgets to entice the crowd and when an influencer on TikTok or YouTube displays the latest one, the hunt is on to find and acquire. It seems right now that a dimpl is the one you want in your stash of fidgets.

Now back to the story of the stolen dimpl. As soon as Em got in the car after school she immediately started in on how her dimpl was stolen.

“Can you repeat that?” I asked.

Anyone that knows Em understands this is a common phrase as she has a tendency to talk fast, especially when she is excited, sad, happy or showing any emotion – which means all the time.

“So I was showing the dimpl to Girl1 and she wanted to hold it. I let her hold it then she put it back on my chair when she was done. When I came back to the chair, it was gone! I think I know who took it. When I was showing it to Girl1, Girl2 asked to see it. She said she didn’t have many fidgets and wanted to see it. I think Girl2 took it.” This went on the entire way home, into the house, while eating a snack, as her dad walked in the door after work and into the evening. SOMEONE STOLE HER DIMPL!

Later that evening a friend sent her a text showing her that in fact, Girl2 had stolen the dimpl and was “flexing” it on SnapChat (we’ll talk about all the social networks and slang in another post). Now Em was officially in overdrive mode with “I knew it! I told you she stole it. How am I going to get it back? What should I do? If I don’t get it back before break I won’t see her again until the new year.”

To say this was stressing her is an understatement. We talked about it and I said “Just ask her for it back.” Oh, that went over like a ton of bricks. So I stepped back and let her just rant with her friends and come up with a strategy to get it back.

Next day it starts first thing when she wakes up. “So Girl3 (that was on SnapChat and found out who stole the dimpl) said to ask for it back. Girl2 knows that I know and she will give it back.”

OK, problem solved.

I pick her up after school and yes, dimpl is in hand and the world is now revolving around the sun again. Life can resume.

But where is the lesson in all this? I think about a scripture that says “Speak blessing, not cursing, over those who reject and persecute you.” Romans 12:14 (TPT)

Not that taking a dimpl is rejection or persecution (Em would say differently), but Em just couldn’t seem to let it go that Girl2 had stolen her dimpl. What could I do to help teach Em a lesson?

As she was planning what gifts to give her BFFs at school, a brilliant idea came to my mind. And I do mean BRILLIANT!

A few months back I had ordered a package of fidgets for Em for her birthday. I put the package in the closet and as usual, forgot to give it to her on her BDAY. So I thought I would just save it for Christmas for her. But then it came to me…

I gave her the package, which had 20 fidget toys, and told her to pick out ones for her friends and also to give some to Girl2 (yes, the one that stole her beloved dimpl). You would have thought I asked her to give away our dog, LOL!

“What, why would I give her a fidget? She stole mine!”

“Didn’t she say that she doesn’t have many fidgets and that is why she took yours?”

“Yes, but…”

“Don’t you think this is a great opportunity to forgive? And WWJD (what would Jesus do)? This may be the only time that someone has been nice to her and you can be that person that forgives.”

I will say that begrudgingly, she put together a gift bag with a couple fidgets for Girl2.

The next day after school I asked “Did you give the gift to Girl2? What did she say?”

“I gave her the gift and she didn’t say anything. She was surprised.”

I’m still not sure if the lesson sunk in but I hope one day Em will realize that returning forgiveness and kindness in a bad situation can not only diffuse the situation, but she could end up with a new friend.