Finding Lost Things

The story at my house this week…finding lost things.  As many of you know I am wearing a flipper right now because of my mouth surgeries.  (For those of you who don’t- a flipper is a fake and very temporary tooth)  If the visual of me wearing a fake tooth – since June- was not funny enough, just wait. 

One day this week I got out of my car with the case for my little tooth in my hand.  As I walked across my leaf covered driveway, I dropped said case, which popped open.  I quickly picked up the case, only to find that my tooth was gone. 

Now your first question might be- why was the tooth in the case and not in your mouth, OR why wasn’t the case securely stored in your purse?  Both great questions with equally viable answers- it was hurting and I just wasn’t thinking. 

On with the story.  I immediately panicked.  That little tooth costs over $500 AND I knew I couldn’t get another one quickly- which would be a disaster.  (Did I mention that it’s a front tooth?) So, I start searching my driveway…the leaf covered driveway.  I move one little leaf at a time, all the time praying I will find the missing tooth.  After searching alone for quite some time, I got the help of my youngest son, then my oldest who arrived home from school, then a friend who also pulled into my driveway.  So…here’s the scene…four grown- or virtually grown- people on their hands and knees moving leaf after leaf as the sun steadily begins to go down. 

After some 45 minutes of searching and praying, I began to wonder- again- how a little tooth could have possibly bounced so far away from the dropped case.  I’m no physicist but I’m smart enough to know the thing wasn’t made of rubber, so none of this was making sense.  Suddenly- it dawned on me…it must have fallen out before I dropped the case.  So the search began again- this time in a whole different area of the driveway. 

About 5 minutes in- we found it carefully lodged in the crease that runs down the middle of every driveway. 

I think the four of us did a few high-fives, maybe danced a little jig, said several hallelujahs, and praised God for being the finder of lost things. 

Then…tonight- my eldest child came home from a vocal concert around 10pm.  At about 10:30 as he was getting ready to pack for a college visit, he realizes he can’t find his wallet.  Loss of driver’s license- bad.  Loss of debit card- worse.  No I.D. to go through airport security tomorrow at 7:15am- catastrophic.  We do the whole backtrack of where you were all day, when’s the last time you saw it, could it be in your car, could it be in the laundry you just threw in…the possibilities were endless, and the panic even more so.  After every other idea was researched I grabbed my keys and we headed out the door to drive the 45 minutes back to his high school to search the parking lot and a nearby trashcan where some things were thrown away.  On the way out- after one more prayer (begging!), my now frantic son used the flashlight one last time to look under his car.  You guessed it- there it was!  No high-fives or jigs this time- just a huge sigh of relief and several exclamations of “Praise the Lord!”  (And one 17 year old’s rendition of “Jesus loves me, this I know.”)

So- this is what I realized in both scenarios.  We praised God for leading us to the lost thing, which was well deserved. But…we also needed to praise Him for how He opened our eyes to the “lostness” of those things in the first place.

If my case had not fallen out my hand when it did, I never would have realized that the tooth was lost on the driveway.  I may not have realized it was gone until hours later.  I would never have known or thought to look on the driveway for it.  Considering that the lawn guy came the next morning to blow leaves off the driveway, it’s safe to say that I never would’ve found it. 

If my son hadn’t started his laundry, he never would’ve realized his wallet was missing.  It was when he decided to not pack the jeans he’d been wearing, but instead wash them that he noticed the wallet was gone.  Although the dramatic (bordering on traumatic) revelation at 10:30pm was not good, 6am tomorrow morning would’ve been much worse. 

Yes- God is the finder of lost things.  He’s also a God who opens our eyes to the “lostness” too.  I asked to find, but He first had to help me see what was lost.  It was just a tooth and a wallet- things that seemed important, but really aren’t. 

God is the finder, redeemer, and Savior of lost things- lost people, but am I allowing Him to open my eyes to what is lost? 

I can ask Him to find –and save- those lost, but I can also ask that He show me who they are.   And here’s the really convicting part- did I pray more to find a lost tooth and wallet than I do to find the souls that are lost? 

A tooth…a wallet…a soul.  No comparison. 

I should be on my hands and knees again- this time by my bedside, not in my driveway.