Lost and Found

As I mentioned in last week’s post, while I was in Ecuador in 2010 I got to take a speedboat ride along the Amazon River with my Dad and some cousins. While we were there, we stopped at a little village where we learned about the local tribes. That’s where I picked out the pretty earring pictured above.

This earring is very special to me, so I don’t wear it often. I did wear it to a birthday celebration with my sister and her family last April. After our lunch, we took some photos outside of the restaurant, and then I drove back home.

When I got home and was unpacking my car, I realized that I was missing one of my earrings. No way!  My first thought was, “Oh no, when am I ever going to go back to the Ecuadorian jungle to find a replacement!”

It was dark, so I couldn’t see much but I quickly surveyed the inside of my car. Nothing. The next day I went back and even though it was daylight, I still didn’t see my earring. Not good.

I tried to forget about it, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would see this earring again. Perhaps it was because at a retreat a few years back, God allowed me to find two of my lost earrings!

So for some reason, every time I entered my car I couldn’t help but just give a glance around in hopes that my earring would turn up. Still nothing. Why was I still feeling like God was saying that I’d get it back?

I mentioned the missing earring to my sister and she asked me to send her a photo of it. (That’s when I snapped the picture above). Two weeks later she was back at the same restaurant and she asked them about their lost and found.  Only a sister would do that! Guess what she saw?

My earring was no longer M.I.A.!

So I did hear God correctly. I was reunited with my earring. Just not in the way I expected.

Why am I sharing all of this?

As I think back to that uneasy feeling I had when my earring was misplaced, I’m reminded of the parable Jesus shared about the woman who lost one of her coins. That coin was worth a day’s wages. No wonder she searched high and low for it. It was extremely valuable to her.

But why was Jesus telling this story? Certainly not to show that our possessions or money have any real worth. Far from it.

He was sharing that parable as well as the one about the lost sheep and the lost son to show how much He values even one lost soul!

“And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:9)

Just one soul is priceless to Jesus! What a sweet Savior!

God will go to great lengths to find His lost and wayward children. And sometimes He will use US to help Him with the search and rescue effort.

In just a few short weeks, I will be headed on my fourth short-term missions trip. This time to Honduras.

Why am I going? I don’t have any direct connections to Honduras. I’ve already been on missions trips to this part of the world. I didn’t have any friends on the team. And Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world! I’ll tell you more about the trip as it gets closer, but for now I can only say that I am going to help seek and encourage even one lost soul.

If you’ve ever lost/misplaced an item and felt the joy of finding it again, perhaps you’ve had just a tiny, tiny taste of how much rejoicing there is in heaven when even one sinner repents and accepts Jesus. (Luke 15:7)

To get to pray with and encourage even one lost soul in Honduras will be an extreme honor for me.

If you are one of those lost souls, I would be honored to hear from you as well.

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