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Lost May Not Mean Gone Forever

Have you ever lost something, I mean really lost something? The thing you lost was so lost that you never thought you would ever see it again.

lost may not mean gone forever

Recently I lost something that bad.

Usually I’m pretty good at finding things I’ve misplaced. I trace my steps, recall where I’ve been or what I’ve done and often am able to locate the item that’s gone AWOL.

But not this time. I played out all the possible scenarios, the places I could have put this thing – my Apple Pencil – but it was lost.

An Apple Pencil is a utensil used for drawing and writing on an iPad. It is incredibly accurate and is even pressure sensitive. You can write lightly or darker, even use shading.

You can probably guess that it cost a few bucks, so losing it was a real concern of mine. 

I recalled the steps I might have taken with it or where I would have put it. It was not in any of those places.

I usually keep it in my briefcase and there had been a few times I had taken my briefcase out of the house. I was sure I had lost it then.

… There was another time when something of mine got so lost I’d given up hope. 

I was probably in about grade 7 or 8. I had a pet iguana we called, “Iguan (Eguon)”. After a few years he had grown to about 2 feet long.

He was certainly big enough to notice if he was next to you.

Well, we were going on a family vacation and I thought I would let him out in the back yard for a bit before we left. 

I turned my head for a moment and the guy was gone. I mean, he was green and I had put him in the grass, but he took off fast!

All my searching turned up nothing – no lizard. 

So we left on vacation for two weeks … the coldest two weeks of the summer. I was sure he was a goner, that I’d never see him, or at least alive, again. 

But when we arrived home, my neighbour told me he had seen Iguan in some bushes the previous week. I looked and, sure enough, he was still there. I found my iguana, even though I thought he was lost forever.

After all my searching for my Apple Pencil, I was sure it had fallen out of my briefcase somewhere and was gone forever. 

I almost bought a new one but the store didn’t have any in stock. 

That night I was thinking about my pencil and a thought came into my head. I remembered travelling to our daughter’s home and staying there. And I had taken my iPad and thought maybe I had taken my Apple Pencil as well. I determined to check my travel bag in the morning. 

Sure enough after a check, it was way down, wedged into one of seams of the bag. 

What I thought I’d never see again, I found. I can’t tell you how happy I was to find that Apple Pencil. 

… It was almost like the joy of the guy in the Bible who found his lost son. 

Here’s the thing: God never gives up on finding people who are lost – and by lost, I mean people who do not have a relationship with God. He keeps searching, so don’t try so hard to hide from Him … and, by that I mean be open to listen for Him calling after you. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you lost that you thought you’d never see again? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Well, That’s It – Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Well that’s it; it’s gone. I’d like to say as quick as it came, it left in the same fashion, but that would not be true. 

well, that;s it - here today, gone tomorrow

I’m not talking about the weather either, though there are some similarities. 

Last week we had a few days of warm weather that seemed to suggest it might stick around. However, as quick as the plus figures arrived, they instantly vanished into oblivion with the arrival of negative temperatures in the double digits.

It was hard to fathom how much a thermometer could drop in such a short span of time. I was blown away at the amount of red liquid that could pool in that round reservoir at the bottom of the thermometer outside our kitchen window. How did it all get in there?

Some things have a quick arrival and then a slow exit. Snow, for one, is like that. 

We received most of our snow accumulation in two storms. Specifically, it was over one night that we really noticed the snow pile up. 

Since that fateful night, the snow has not retreated all that quickly. Even with those few warm days we experienced last week, there was not a significant amount of melting to be observed with the naked eye. 

I think you would need some kind of a measuring system to tell if the glacier on my front lawn has retreated at all.

I doubt we will see this snow disappear for some time … though apparently we will be back in plus temperatures a few days from now. 

But this blog is not about arriving quickly and then sticking around – actually, the opposite.

About five weeks ago I started growing a beard. I got covid and, for the five days I stayed at home, I didn’t shave. (You can read about it here.)

I was just intrigued with the white stuff on my face and decided to see what it would look like if I kept it around. So for the last four to five weeks, I’ve been growing this white stuff. 

… No, I haven’t digressed to talking about the snow, just the mostly white beard that has been accumulating on my face. 

It has not come about quickly though. 

I could wait longer to see how it fully develops and if I will maybe look like David Letterman or Santa Clause, but at this point I think I have a good idea of how it would turn out. 

During this time, I’ve been driving my wife, Lily, batty. She doesn’t like it, not one bit. 

And I’ve stayed coy, not indicating that I’m in any hurry to shave it off. 

But unlike the snow on the ground that comes quickly and leaves very slowly, my beard has taken weeks to develop … but I was able to eliminate it from my face within a matter of fifteen minutes. 

… I know someone who will be ecstatic that her Valentine wish has come true!

Here’s the thing: Think about it – God has been very patient with mankind. The Bible says He is slow to anger, abounding in love and mercy. Centuries have gone by with the promise of Christ returning – that’s a long delay. But when Christ does return, it will be quick and possibly unexpected. Don’t get caught thinking there is lots of time until then. Place your faith in Christ today and develop your relationship with Him so you will be ready for His quick return. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to bring to a quick end? Leave your comments and questions below.

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