Lost and Found

Have you ever lost something that was very important to you? I have.

I used to wear a small gold ring on my right pinky finger. If my hands experienced cold, my fingers usually reduced in size, and my gold ring would fall off my little finger. I would hunt frantically all over the house, until I found it. One day, I discovered it in a thermos bottle! I suspected that my daughter, who was about four years old, threw it in there and then forgot about it. But I am speaking of a material item, which can always be replaced.

Losing a child is another matter.

Quite a few years have passed since the time when I lost my youngest daughter in a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. My friend and my two daughters, Christine, Cindy, and I, decided to go shopping; it was quite a treat for us country bumpkins! My friend and I decided to go into a clothing store for women, and I asked Christine, my older daughter, to look after the younger, Cindy, while we were in the store. About five minutes had passed when we left the store. We saw Christine, but Cindy was not in sight. When I confronted Christine, she told me that Cindy had gone into the store where we were. My heart started pounding, and I ran into the store and asked the clerk if she had seen a little girl. The answer was a definite "No." I was in a state of panic and despair now. I ran back outside the store and started yelling at Christine, not realizing that she already felt badly. My mind conjured up all sorts of scenarios like abduction, running outside the mall into the street, getting lost, and so on. In my panic-stricken state, I started to pray silently, tears running down my face. It seemed like an eternity, but only five minutes later, two young girls, holding hands with Cindy in the middle, approached me. I was overjoyed and relieved!

This incident brought to mind the story that Jesus shared of the shepherd whose sheep was lost:

Luke 15:3-7 – So Jesus told them this story: "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbours, saying, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!" (NLT)

Just as I was overjoyed seeing Cindy again after she was briefly lost and then found, how much more is our heavenly Father's joy when one of His children repents and returns to Him!

In what area of your life is God prodding you to return to Him?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You love us with an everlasting love. When we go astray, You wait patiently for us to return, and You are overjoyed when we do. Amen.