Sometime between last Saturday night and Sunday morning, someone took both of my moonflower benches from my front yard. One of them is the bench I wrote about in my book Conversations with a Moonflower. It was the bench that faced the house.

The two of them together weren't worth more than one hundred dollars. Their only value was sentimental – for it was on the large bench that I had so many life-changing conversations with the moonflower. A friend's youngest daughter gave the small bench to me several years ago. She and her mom brought it to me one evening so that the little children who came to watch the moonflower bloom would have their own bench to sit on. We placed the smaller child's bench in front of the larger bench and called it our 'stadium seating'.

When I came home tonight, it looked so strange not to see it sitting there, facing the flowerbeds, just as it has for the past eight summers. It made me feel a little sad for a moment, but it's an easy fix - I'll just have to start looking for a new one.

But I do have something I would like to say to whoever took it:

The bench is used to having people sit quietly on it each night at sunset and think, ask questions, and listen. The people who sit on the bench often contemplate their many blessings and wonder what they can do to bless the lives of others. They come to realize they have much to give and are unique and amazing creations.

So whoever you are, please sit quietly on the bench in the cool evening air and contemplate your life, your blessings, and your purpose. As soon as you're done, I would be so grateful if you would bring the bench back.