The Perpetual Lost and Found

Here’s the routine:  My husband asks, “Have you seen my  _______? "  Ordinarily the missing object is where it was last used. However, the older we get, the foggier we are as to where and when that was. So as I go about my day I find things in random places and put them back where they belong.

I am making a concerted effort not to let it bother me anymore. In my former days, (which was not all that long ago) I would sometimes declare sanctimoniously that if I kept MY kitchen the way he kept HIS shop, we’d never eat. No one has to LOOK for my things. I KNOW how to put everything away. Yada. Yada. Yada. I wasn’t nice.

Thankfully, I control my tongue better now. But I confess, I still roll my eyes sometimes.  Not too long ago, I was sitting in a random waiting room, thumbing through a random magazine, and I spotted an unusual letter written by a recently widowed woman who was obviously hurting.

She lamented all the times she had chided her husband for being late. No matter how many times she asked, he just couldn’t get home on time for dinner.  She’d yell; he’d duck his head. Years of this routine. Then he died unexpectedly. He’d never be walking in late again.  Belatedly, she wished she could thank him for working so hard and providing so much. Now her home was a desperately lonely place.  I closed the magazine. It may have been a random magazine, but the message was for me.
 
Lost items are now opportunities. Random screwdrivers, drill bits, guitar picks, keys, wallet, and at least a half-dozen electronic devices are all my chance to give some love. Finding the lost brings me closer to the one who works so hard for me.




I started thinking about what else is lost.  It often extends beyond things. We can lose our hope, our joy, or our perspective.  Perhaps God was using this lost and found issue in my home to help me see a bigger need. Now that I have practice looking, maybe I can sense what others may have lost (their confidence, their faith, or their dreams) and help them find what's missing in their lives.






Popular posts from this blog

Dreaming the Dream

Image
Dreaming big dreams about the future is easy for kids. The only thing standing in the way is time.  Kid’s dreams are not about skills, or opportunities, or even practicality. Those things come much later.  My grandson hopes to be professional soccer player when he grows up. This week, a small piece of his dream came true when his Boys and Girls Club was invited to participate in pre-game activities with the Seattle Sounders Football Club.  He got to suit up in a real jersey and walk on the field with a real pro player. Imagine a young soccer player looking up to who he hopes to be one day. If you haven’t taken the time to talk to a child about their future dreams—you should.  They believe. As we get older we sometimes forget that dreams fuel our hopes—and that's something we all need. So, do you still dream? Or have you left those childhood thoughts behind?  S pending time with children will  inspire you to believe agai
Read more

Sexy Selfies: Posting for attention

Image
We’ve all seen the “selfie” pix on Facebook—those self-taken images in varying forms of dress (or undress). Usually they’re female poses taken in public restrooms, dressing rooms, bedrooms, and lots of what used to be private space. Thanks to selfies and social media, it’s open season on privacy—and modesty. Do you have a social media “friend” who has become a serial selfie? Most often selfies are young girls sharing their sexiness with the world. Serial selfies post hundreds of pictures, so it’s hard to ignore the display. The question is why do they do it. While I don’t approve of the sexy display of serial selfies, insecurity is at the root. Selfies collect “likes” to boost morale. The attention received is like a balm to their broken spirits. But the dark side of exhibitionism is feeling used—not unlike the girl searching for love and giving away her body in hopes of finding love. Selfies seek approval. They're locked in a perpetual cycle of posting pi
Read more

Wild or Tame? Which One Are You?

Image
Finally! Research that explains why I act the way I do. Columbia University’s Motivational Science Center studied people’s activities and what brought them the most happiness. Even more telling were how those activities changed as they aged. Twenty-somethings tend to equate happiness with high-energy activities. Words like excited and ecstatic are usually attached to spontaneous things—even risky things—and living life full throttle.  Researchers labeled this Promotion Motivation —the urge to take chances, including career moves that may not work out. Happiness comes from happenings—the more happenings, the more happiness. By age forty, adults associate happiness with things running smoothly at work and home. It’s also about feeling secure in relationships. Keeping healthy matters more too. This behavior is called Prevention Motivation —and people are more concerned with preserving and maintaining the things they value. It appears that time ofte
Read more