Lost and Found

 "If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me."

Psalm 139:9-10

16 years ago next month, shortly after the death of my dad, we sat at the closing table to purchase the home in which we live. '

Today, shortly after the death of my mom, we will sit at the table once again and sign the papers selling it. 

We're doing so early because the arduous process of the actual move begins bright and early tomorrow, but if all goes as scheduled, the buyers are supposed to sign tomorrow. I expect the buyer to show up then as he seems so excited to take possession, and we're ready to pass along this beautiful home to its new owner. 

Covid is blamed for everything nowadays, and because of that and the insanity of the real estate market, mortgage companies are too busy to keep up. Even in the best of times, closings happening on time are iffy, but we've never been delayed...

yet...

I've been compulsively planning for this week for years. And here it is as I wonder when and how it will actually happen. But the Lord tells me to rest in Him. To take this process in moments, not days and weeks. He has always been so faithful - in the big things, of course, but especially in those small things that so often tie me up.

When my mom was living, she was driven by having "stuff". She wanted to show it all off to other people and she never had enough of it. It drove her crazy because I used an antique chest in the basement to keep the TV on and no one would see it there. 

At her death, she had  very little jewelry, and I took possession of it all in a very small bag.

Yesterday, as I organized and cleaned out my own things, I couldn't find her small bag of treasures. 

I had already discussed with my brother where some of her things should go and I was just sick that it was seemingly gone. How would I ever explain it to him that I had lost it?

I looked and prayed for quite some time before bringing others into my equation to pray along with me, and literally within 5 minutes of doing that, I went right to where I had placed the small bag when we got this home ready to put on the market.

I never doubted that the Lord COULD guide me to it, but WOULD He? 

His hand led me to exactly where I needed to go. Those things that are my concerns, no matter how small they may be, are at the top of His list too, and He proved that once again. It's happened before as I looked for lost things, and I know it will again. 

So whether we close on this home on time tomorrow, or 10 days from now, or even if this seemingly golden deal falls apart at the last minute and we're forced to re-list this home and try to sell it while empty (Oh Lord, please no...), I can trust in Him.

I may plan and prepare and try to move the pieces on the board to my own satisfaction,

But God...

"His hand shall lead me, and His right hand shall hold me". In that place, I find my true home.

Rejoice always, 

Pray without ceasing,

Give thanks in ALL circumstances;

For this is the will of God in Christ for you.

1Thessalonians 5:16-18

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A Precious Pearl

One of the great things about having your own blog is that you can choose what you want to write about. And if someone actually reads it and they don't like it, it's their own fault for tuning in. 

Usually, I tell stories about my childhood and my brothers, or the fun extended family. But I had the most amazing experience in the past  month that I feel compelled to pass on. Here we go.....

The first several years of our marriage, my handsome half was in the military, and his job kept him circumnavigating the globe for weeks at a time. On one of his trips through Japan, he dropped in to Yokota Air Base, and as was his habit, he went off base to do some shopping. Sometimes when he left home, I sent him with a shopping list. That's why our decorating style was "Early American Military Airlift Command." But on this particular trip, he took it in his own hands to look for and pick out a beautiful pair of pearl earrings with which to surprise me. He managed to keep track of them until he finally arrived at home, and it meant so much to me when he told me the story of his time spent being educated by the pearl merchant before picking them out. 

I got a lot of wear out of those earrings for over 35 years. Until about 2 weeks ago. I had been out a good part of the day, and when I was taking my earrings out and getting ready for bed I saw, to my horror, that I still had the stud in my ear, but one pearl had fallen off. Sad, sad, day. I was just heartsick. 

Of course I prayed about it. I can't tell you how many things I've been able to find after asking the Lord to direct me to them. But this was so small, and I had been to so many places. So, my prayer went something like this: "Lord, can you help me find that pearl?  Is that even possible?!?" Yeah. Not one of my prouder moments. I honestly didn't believe it would ever turn up again and they couldn't be replaced, at least not in the same way I had gotten them originally.

A few days later, I picked up a set of 3 pairs of pearl earrings mounted on a piece of cardboard. They were only $4, and even though there was a "little voice" in my head telling me I shouldn't do it....not give up so easily, I went ahead and purchased them. So now I had 3 1/2 pairs of earrings, but only a single earring had a neat story attached.

Well, 2 days ago, my handsome half set a black bag in front of me. And inside was a black box. And inside of that was another black box and it was hinged. See where I'm going?

He had purchased another pair of pearl earrings to replace what I had lost. But his didn't come on a piece of cardboard off the sale rack! I was so humbled that he would do such a sweet thing. So now I had 4 1/2 pairs of earrings and the newest set also had a sweet story attached. 

But the story wasn't over....

On the same day that my husband gave me that beautiful replacement set of pearl earrings, I got a text from a friend. Her home is one of the places I had been the day the pearl went missing. And the only thing in the text was this picture.

This little pearl had survived the vacuum and a family of 5 for 2 weeks. And she found it quite by accident. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew. She had found the pearl I had lost and thought I would never see again. And I immediately thought back to the prayer "Can you even do that? Is that even possible?!?" And I could almost hear the Lord's voice saying "Yeah. I can." And I think there was a tinge of sarcasm there too! The Lord knew where it was all along. And even though I prayed with hardly a hint of faith, He gave it back. I started out with one sweet pair of pearl earrings. Now I had five complete sets.

So. The "moral" of the story? Pray. Plain and simple. Whether you believe He can or not. Pray. Because He hears your voice and knows your heart and just wants to hear from His children. It's not about the amount of faith you bring to the table, it's about a gracious God Who cares about His own and what they're concerned about. He is completely trustworthy.

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

Matthew 13: 44-46