Lost and Found

I do not hate very many things.  I hate turnip greens.  I hate cold, rainy days.  I hate losing things.  There was a time that I lost my pocket knife and I pretty much accused my wife of taking it.  I did find it a few days later in the couch cushions.  

The last several weeks have seen a lot of loss in my church family.  We've seen several dear friends go on to Heaven, and that is always difficult.  Death can be hard to understand and even harder to explain to children.  Though I find that children tend to be more accepting of death than most adults, it is still difficult to explain the passing of a person from this life to the next.  Whereas a child will understand that death is something that comes to each of us, many adults never get past the questioning stage of grief. 

Why do we say that someone “lost” a loved one?  It’s not as if we misplaced them or set them down somewhere and forgot where we put them.  If you are a Christian, you have a definite understanding of what happens to folks after their earthly body passes away.  If you aren’t a Christian, I’m not sure what you believe happens to your soul or even if you believe that you have a soul.  But that’s a discussion for another day.

As much as I hate losing things, you know what I hate most?  I hate seeing people losing relationships.  I have a family member that has completely shut himself off away from the rest of our family; he has even moved across the country.  He doesn’t talk to anyone very much and when he does, it isn’t for very long.  He’s lost the benefit of the family relationship.  Think about where you might be without your family.  Yes, there might be a lot less stress and a lot less drama, but where would you be?

When friends drift apart and lose the relationship they once had, it is a difficult thing as well.  I have a friend that took a job in another state.  We haven’t really kept up and the loss I felt from the absence of that friendship has begun to fade.  When that relationship is totally gone, there will be something valuable missing in my life.  There has to be.  That friendship was important for a reason.  I may not realize why right now, but one day I will wake up and see what I’ve lost.

Losing thing, whether they are possessions, loved ones, or relationships, is always accompanied by the grieving process.  It is natural to grieve.  But you know what?  When I lost my pocket knife, I didn’t grieve over it and think it was the end of the world, I decided to find that knife.  Yes, I accused my wife of taking my knife (why I thought she would have done so, I don’t know); but I was determined to find it, and I did. 

This Thanksgiving, let’s take some time to evaluate those things in our lives that we have lost or are in the process of losing.  Take a moment to decide if you are going let these things stay lost or if you are going to find them.  You’d be surprised what you find if you only look for it.