Have you ever lost something that was so important to you? How do you react when you think something is lost? Would you tear apart everything to find it? Do you even look for it or just give up before beginning? What if the thing you lost really isn’t that important? What if you never find it but you look every day for the rest of your life? Would it still be worth looking for? Or what if the most important thing to you falls into the worst-case scenario….it doesn’t want, need, or may not be possible to be found? What do you do?

I know when I lose something, I franticly look around everywhere for it. I will search every corner of my house, office, car, hotel, ship, and think about when was the last time I seen it or how did I lose it. I have loss so many things in my life, I can’t even keep track. Pretty sure I lose something of importance daily. Like my water bottle at the rock-climbing gym, my military ID in the computer at work, my cell phone at the gym, or my car keys every time I am running late to anything. Now that I am writing this down, I think I have a problem with losing things. I guess that’s why I am here writing this today.

I love the thought of having things exactly where they belong. Somehow, I get things out and never put anything back where I got them from. Or I think it took so long to find something that I don’t even want to put it away. There is nothing better than a well-organized garage, house, office, or life. I love to have things organized…but guess what….I must work hard to keep on top of it.

For example, every time that I am trying to find a screwdriver for something in the house. I always want to find the exact perfect screwdriver. This one perfect screwdriver could be in 30 different places. I could sift endlessly for hours looking through all the possibilities of hiding places I have made over the years. I usually find 30 different screwdrivers that are the wrong size or has the wrong shape tip. Not once have I found my screwdriver in the first place I looked durning my excursion. Maybe! I should just buy 30 screwdrivers and put one in all those places. Nope! That is a terrible idea because I know that I would somehow end up with 30 screwdrivers in the same drawer and I wouldn’t even look in that drawer when I needed to find one.

This is my least favorite. I can’t stand it when I lose something, and I search and search and search. I will look in the same places over and over, like it is just going to appear out of nowhere. I will ask myself the same questions, expecting somehow, I will dig deep enough in my brain that I will have an epiphany and find it. I start asking others if they used it or moved it. Then I think the worst, “Someone stole it!” Eventually, I will search so long that I get the idea that it may be faster and better if I just go get another one. Replace the one thing that doesn’t want to be found.

Here is another hard one, what if finding your loss, causes a loss for someone else? You may know what you want and can see it right in front of you. You may even want to grab and hold so tight to never lose it again. But what if you getting everything you wanted causes someone else to lose something or themselves? This may be the hardest of all the losses. This type of loss means that you may both have to lose something for one person not to be the only one having a loss.

And the worst of them all, what if your loss is a person that has passed away? You know you can’t find them, but you still look around everywhere. You still miss them more than anything and wish you had just one more talk, one more walk, one more laugh.

Are you doing all the things you can with the people that are important to you? If this type of loss happened today, would you find yourself in search for them or hope that one day you will get to see them again?

This is what I have learned during my searches of lost items/memories:

I usually find my stolen items in a place where I left them. I always find what I am looking for when I stop searching so hard. If I take care of my things, they are always in the place that I first look. And the people that truly care about me remain in my life while the others just move on.

#18…Everyone will lose something important… Don’t get frustrated because you cant find what you are looking for at the moment. Always surround yourself with others that make you feel important, special, and loved. Don’t search so hard to find something that might cause another to lose themselves. Don’t let someone important leave this earth with any doubt that you will see them again in heaven. Always trust that God has a plan, even if you are having a hard time seeing it!!! And don’t buy 30 screwdrivers to replace the one you lost.  

God Bless,

Recently Lost and Found