That thought needs rereading – please don’t give up on God’s redemptive power! The Bible teaches us that ‘we ought always pray and not give up.’ This BTW, is my personal experience of the parable of the lost coin! Way back in June this year, I lost my wedding ring. Obviously it is very special to me, we’ve been married for 38 years. I cried and cried. Until that loss happened, I didn’t even know such a small thing could upset me like that. 

Afterwards, hubby and I could immediately relate to what happened in a story that Jesus’ once told. The lady who lost a coin and she tore her house apart trying to find it. The loss of my ring brought that story to life in a new way! Because of the story before that one, it also reminded me, yet again, of how passionate the Lord is about His sheep! Take some time to pause today, and think about how much He loves you! He’s the God of little seemingly insignificant things, that matter to us.

At the time we lost the ring, we tore our house apart and then dear hubby went outside and did the same thing to the car, and searched under every leaf in the garden. But there was absolutely no sign of that ring. Usually when something is not resolved, or it has gone missing, no matter what the outcome is – I have peace. But this time, I really struggled to find His peace. Finally, I managed to put it all down and leave it with Him. Boy was I reluctant to do that! Then if the lost ring came up again, I gave it back to Him, and told Him the results were His business.

I have mentioned before on this blog, that I make crystal, beaded bookmarks, to give away when we go on our trips. In the last couple of weeks I’ve made 52. This meant I needed to replenish my beads. I love making people feel special, so I want the very best crystals for my bookmarks. I use real crystal beads, especially the AB2 ones, but they are now hard to find, Swarovski stopped making them. As the supply dwindled worldwide, they have become very scarce, so I bought some more while I still can! The arrival of these crystals  makes my day. We don’t get out much! 🤣 It seems pretty easy to entertain us! 

Unfortunately, when the crystals arrived, the packaging was faulty and my precious expensive crystals, spilled out everywhere! Actually, they are now so expensive that I take the time to count them when they arrive! And I could see that I had several missing from one packet. I even watched one of them slide down the side of the chair I sit on. That was not good news for me. This particular chair doesn’t leave room for hands to wiggle in and retrieve things. The result was:  the chair ate my crystals and I was not amused.

I jammed my hand down the side of it, repeatedly wiggling this way and that, trying to get the precious crystals back … and bruising my hand in the process. The short story is I managed to retrieve 3 out of 4 of them. One of them is still lost somewhere in the basement of the chair! But it was painful, wood and delicate lady hands, don’t mix!  My hubby volunteered to join in my quest. In the end he went under the chair to dig around and see if it had fallen through. That’s when I discovered a previously unknown fact about my kind of chair.

MY recliner chair is like a block of apartments. It’s in layers. And even though something can fall from one layer to the next – that does not mean it will eventually fall out on the floor. Hubby wiggled his hand in, and felt his way underneath while I’m bruising my hand upstairs. Hubby even took the skin off his knuckles. And lo and behold, quite unexpectedly, his fingers closed around something quite unanticipated. It seems the chair had also eaten my wedding ring – apparently my chair’s basic food group is jewellery in one form or another!

I rejoiced so loudly — you may have heard me! Then I cried. Then I rejoiced some more because that which was lost had been found. And I now had a very personal example of the story with the lady with the coin. And a very small, real life experience of what the verse in Luke 15:10 means to Father God. “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” 

BTW, I don’t feel bad using my ring as an example, because once Jesus used a fig tree, wheat, sheep and a coin to make His point. FYI I lost this ring because I took it off to clean it and I’m not doing that any more – it can go green instead!! This whole situation made me think about all the prayers that we pray, that appear to be unanswered, and how we cope when an answer doesn’t come right away. So here’s my very own ‘lost sheep’ testimony on today’s subject that is about stuff ... but far more about people. 

I mentioned briefly at the time when my mother died a few months ago, that I have been a Christian for 50 years. My mum’s terminal illness was a scary time, because she objected to my faith. We could not engage her on the subject at all. Once a long time ago, she threatened to disinherit me because of my faith. Poor dear, she didn’t have 10c  to leave a flea, at the time, but the emotional ramifications were … rah rah rah. You get it! 

About a month before she died, she suddenly started to listen carefully to us. And I learnt something. Some people have to exhaust all their own resources, before they can even begin to hear you! My dear mother was stuck in an invalid’s chair unable to turn herself over, go to the loo etc. All she had left physically, was her speech, and even her mind had begun to wander. She knew it, so meaningful words became more precious to her. Seeing us was all she wanted.

I also realised that sometimes in our enthusiasm and compassion for a person who does not know the Lord – we will need to pray for deliverance, as well as for salvation! Nobody likes to watch anyone suffer, and it is even worse when the person suffering is a precious family member. But when they are racing down the hill into eternity, it is extremely scary. That’s when our faith in His faithfulness needs to prevail. He loves those people so much more than we do. 

I wanted to write on this subject today because I know many many people, reading here, have prayed and prayed and prayed, for far more important things than my ring. Like unsaved family members—parents, siblings, spouses, or desperately ill family members. Maybe also fervent prayer for health, or finding work or somewhere to sleep at night. My mother was 97 when she finally understood that Jesus loves her. She went home peacefully. I had been witnessing to her, loving on her, wrangling with her upside-down ideas about faith, for 50 years and before she died, she finally heard me. 

My message is about this –  no matter what it is you feel you have lost don’t give up! Almighty God doesn’t give up on LOST SHEEP. One of the best things we can learn to do is to trust Him when nothing makes any sense any more. Right now I want to add my faith to yours, and believe for that miracle you desperately need.. Big troubles or seemingly insignificant ones – He’s got you. Never forget the value of being found. Bye. 👋