missing

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We Become Blind To What Has Become Too Familiar

We can get so used to something that we become blind to it and even stop being aware of what it is. 

we become blind to what has become too familiar

Recently I had something on my person that went missing and I didn’t notice it was gone for quite a while.

There was a commercial for an air freshener on television a number of years ago. The commercial depicted strong food orders or sweaty gym clothes and said we can become smell blind to them. 

We know it’s true, because you can cook fish for dinner and think nothing of it. But when you come back to your house after going out for the evening, all you smell is that fish. 

We get used to our environment. 

I played hockey this morning and the guy beside me in the dressing room must have become smell blind to his hockey equipment. There was definitely some potent stink coming from his hockey bag.

But this doesn’t just happen with smells; we can actually become blind to physical things that we look at every day. 

Maybe you had a knick-knack on a coffee table that had been there for years. You walked by it multiple times a day. Then one day you noticed it was gone and wondered how long it had been missing. 

I know this can happen because once my brother and I broke one of my mom’s figurines and we hid it. It took a couple of weeks before she started asking questions about that little Hummel.

Well, it got even worse for me the other day. I looked down at my wrist and noticed something was missing. 

For years I’ve been wearing a red band made of silicone on my right wrist. When I noticed it wasn’t there and started wondering where I might have lost it and when this might have happened. 

I had no clue how long it had been gone. I had to check the videos of my weekly sermons. It turns out that the last time I had it on my wrist when I was preaching was three weeks prior. 

… Three weeks! I have no idea when during that time it might have gone missing or where this might have happened. It was just gone and I had become blind to it. 

I wore that band literally every day for over ten years. I never took it off for showering, sports …never! 

In my defence, this wrist band was light. It weighed nothing and I couldn’t feel it on my wrist. 

But it was red and it’s not like I don’t look down in the direction of my hands about a hundred times a day. 

And it’s still warm out, so my wrists are bare – no long sleeves or coats.

How in the world could I become so blind to something that was so much a part of me every day for such a long time? 

I guess we get too familiar with some things that, though they are part of our lives, we can become detached from them.

Here’s the thing: Our greatest concern should be that we become so familiar with being a follower of Jesus that we kind of get detached or distanced from Him. We can become blind to our faith and not notice that it’s missing or not active any more. Stay aware of Christ in your life with regular prayer, praise and pursuing His Word, the Bible. … Oh, and attend church as well.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you become blind to in your life? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I’m Missing Another One And The Total Is Mounting

It happened again just yesterday; another one went missing.

I'm missing another one and the total is mounting

Before you think the worst scenario, I’m not talking about some child abduction or any kind of kidnapping attempt. 

However, it surprises me how many times in a year that emergency system on our phones goes off to let us know that a child has been taken. It should never happen and it is always concerning when that message is broadcast.

But there are other things that go missing in our lives, some of them regularly. Fortunately most of the things that go missing are found. Like how many times do your keys go missing, even for a few minutes? 

Sometimes my reading glasses have gone missing. I’ve checked my pockets, my night stand and the last place I remembered using them, only to realize that they were on my head. 

The glasses were never really missing. It was my sense of feeling and awareness that went missing on those occasions. 

When you think about it, there are a lot of things that go missing every day. Whether it’s a piece of paper, your wallet, a nut or bolt, glasses, even your coat, anything can go missing, can’t it? 

One time, I had a hockey game but was feeling sick. My parents told me they didn’t want me to play, but I didn’t listen and went anyway. 

I put on my equipment and when I went to put on my skates, one was missing – just one skate. It turned out that my dad had just taken it out of my hockey bag. I didn’t play hockey that night. 

Most of what goes missing is found again, sometimes moments after it disappeared. But some things that go missing are never found again.

It was one of those things that went missing yesterday. 

I have a drawer where I keep all my socks. They are organized mostly by colour, but I have another section that is organized by numbers. That area is for single socks that have no mate. One sock out of a pair has gone missing. 

You might think it strange, but when a sock goes missing it is rarely found … well, at least in my experience. 

I have – based on yesterday’s new acquisition – a total of five single socks in that section of my sock drawer. 

By the very nature of me having a section where I keep these odd socks, you would think that I have hope of one day finding the missing socks. That’s not the case. I have doubles of a lot of my socks so I keep the odd ones in case a matching sock from another pair goes missing. Then I’ll still have a pair.

Socks that go missing don’t get found. I’m convinced the washing machine eats them or the dryer fries them and spits the pieces out through the vent.

All I know is I’m not going to see that sock again. 

Here’s the thing: Some people think that wherever we end up, we will be together and it will be a party. But heaven and hell are very different. Heaven is a place of community with God and others who have placed their faith in Christ. Hell, however, is not a place of community. When someone goes there, they go missing. People in hell will not get to console each other or take comfort in being with others. There will be no sense of togetherness whatsoever in hell. So while you can, be sure you are heading to the place of community where no one will go missing. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is the most common thing to go missing in your life? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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I’m Missing Something This Spring

There is something missing right now that would make spring just that much better. 

I'm missing something this spring

Some years what’s missing in early spring is half decent weather. Well, I can’t say we are missing that this year.

I went biking the other day for the first time this year and it felt like a mid-summer ride. It was 25 degrees Celsius.

We’ve had a mild winter and now a fantastic start to spring. What is there to complain about, except COVID?

But I feel it. There is still something missing and the nicer weather has brought it to my attention: I’m missing my drone. 

Right now I would be getting my drone out and looking for places to fly it. But it’s not happening this spring. 

It’s not that I’ve lost my drone or can’t find it, I have it. In fact, it’s right beside me now. But my drone is broken.

Back in December I flew it into a tree and it fell about thirty feet to the ground, and not just the ground, it fell onto ice. 

I knew it was finished then, but I put it back in its case and have kept it around. 

Then about a week ago, I watched a video of a guy who fixed his broken drone. 

Well, I got inspired. I hauled out my drone, viewed the video once again, and then looked at the damage on my drone. 

My heart sank again, just like it had done in December. The damage to my drone was way more extensive than the one in the video. 

I have a couple of wires extending to the props that are disconnected and I just don’t have the skill to be able to reattached them. 

Besides that, there is damage to the forward sensor and two places on one of the prop arms that are cracked and left dangling. 

The drone is just too far gone.

And so I’m reminded that I’m missing what I would normally be doing, finding places to fly my drone … and getting some great drone footage to use in video projects. 

When things go missing, often times they come back or are found again.

When children lose a tooth, they may have a gaping hole in their smile, but they won’t be missing that tooth for long. A bigger, stronger tooth is on its way.

When you’re older, however, and a tooth goes missing, there is not any hope of it coming back. You must look at different ways to fill what is missing from your smile.

One thing I know for sure about my drone is that it is not going to fly again. The only way I will be replace my missing drone is with a new one. 

It’s too bad that my birthday isn’t until mid June. 

Like a young child without his tooth, I will be missing my drone for a while. 

Here’s the thing: The only sad thing about heaven is that there will be people missing from it. You will, undoubtedly, be missing someone you loved and wanted to share all eternity with. There will be no replacement. Therefore, it is important to do what you can to ensure your loved ones have an opportunity to choose Christ, so they won’t be missing in heaven. Do not wait for someone else to share Jesus with them; take the initiative yourself. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Who or what is missing in your life right now? Leave your comments and questions below.

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What Is Missing Will Be Replaced By Something Else

I’ve noticed that when something is missing, something else always takes its place. 

what is missing will be replaced by something else

When you dig a hole in the sand, other sand falls in that hole to take the place of the sand that was removed.

Silence is like that. When no one is talking, there’s pressure to interject the silence with music or television or someone talking. 

It is difficult to be in a group and ask a question. If the question isn’t answered immediately, the one who asked the question often feels compelled to end the silence and give the answer. 

An empty garbage can doesn’t stay that way for long. Soon after it is emptied, new garbage is added to it. … It must be difficult working in janitorial services when all the cleaning they do is constantly replaced by more mess and dirt.

I remember watching Saturday Night Live, way back in the 70’s. One of the characters on the show was Roseanne Roseannadanna. The character was played by comedian, Gilda Radner. 

Roseanne was a commentator correspondent on a comedy news segment. But Roseanne would always go off on a tangent from what she was supposed to be commenting on.  

When the news anchor would stop her for being so off-topic, Roseanne would say “Jane, it just goes to show, it’s always something; if it’s not one thing, it’s another.” … And then she would somehow weave her off-topic story to fit the original story.

And Roseanne Rosannadanna was right. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. 

This year we had a mild winter. We didn’t have much snow or even many snowfalls. 

You might think that’s one thing that, when it goes missing, is not replaced by something else, but you would be wrong. 

The snow was less and we had fewer times our church parking lot had to be plowed. The snow even melted sooner. But when the snow did melt, it uncovered something else because, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. 

What has been left behind this year is an inordinate amount of sand and salt. … We will be able to add yards of beach to the shoreline of Lake Ontario this year. Kids will even love to lick it because of the high salt content.

We didn’t get all the snow we had the year before, but we sure made up for it in sand in the parking lot. 

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. 

Last year we filled the back of a pickup truck with the sand – this year it will be more like a pickup and a half or even two!

I don’t want anyone to think I’m not happy that we had such a mild winter. I would be ecstatic if every year was like this past winter, but I certainly don’t look forward to clean up day at the church. 

It just goes to show you, it’s always something. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.

Here’s the thing: When it comes to the end of life, it will be the same. If we don’t go to one place, we will go to the other. If we don’t go to heaven, there is somewhere else we will go. That place is called hell. Now’s the time to ensure you’re going to heaven by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. 

That’s Life! 

Paul 

Question: What is missing in your life right now that might be filled with something else? Leave your comments and questions below.

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