Lost and Found

Written by Vianne Satterfield

Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 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.”

My husband wears a special ring that is considered a ‘family heirloom,’ as it was fashioned from several other family gold rings, and has an S-shaped trail of diamonds, which represents the first letter of our last name. The ring has monetary and sentimental value, as his dad wore the ring until his death a couple of years ago.

Several months ago, while driving home from visiting his mom and sister, my husband discovered the ring was gone from his hand. He had lost weight and the ring had been too loose. We stopped and searched under the seats, around the console and we looked everywhere we could think it might be hiding! We felt sickened by the loss of the ring, especially when we phoned his mom to alert her of the lost ring. She too searched throughout her home, driveway and yard. She even searched at the local gas station where Rick had filled up prior to our departure. We retraced our steps and phoned the other businesses where Rick had been that day. The ring was gone and we felt saddened by the its loss.

I prayed and asked God to illuminate its hiding place. We searched everywhere possible, but could not find it. We gave up on finding the ring. We assumed whoever found it would either keep or sell it, as the ring was unique and valuable.

I admit I had given up on finding the ring — even though I had prayed and asked the Lord to illuminate its hiding place. God remembered and He answered my prayer, several months later. While retrieving a Patsy Cline CD that had been rattling around underneath the back seat of the vehicle, Rick found his ring! Surprisingly, it was safely nestled underneath a newspaper clipping of a memoriam of his dad’s passing, next to an “Our Daily Bread” devotional booklet, a package of scrapers, and a paint brush. The ring was hidden under a picture of Rick’s dad! I am not making this up. The family heirloom ring was covered and protected by Rick’s heavenly father.

When Rick showed me what he had found, he looked as if he had seen a ghost! We were thrilled to have found his no-longer-lost ring. We immediately called his mom to share the good news! It was as if the angels were rejoicing with us! What was lost had been found!

This experience reminds me of God’s goodness. When it looks as if there is no way for an answer to prayer, keep believing and keep looking for the WayMaker, our God, to make a way. The answer to your prayer may surprise you. I think God delights in giving good gifts to His kids by showing us that nothing is too difficult for Him. God’s timing is not our timing and His ways of doing things are often mysterious and even playful. Do not give up hope on the lost things or lost people in your life. The lost will be found. Until then, trust the WayMaker and prepare to rejoice with the angels.

I would love to hear from you. Share a time when God showed Himself to be mysterious or playful in how He answered your prayer.