I had planned to blog about something else today, but it can wait. When you read this, you may think it’s a small matter, and in fact, it is relatively insignificant. But through the eyes of faith, and as a metaphor for greater things, it’s a big deal.

Last week I was kvetching about looking for something I’d lost. On Tuesday, I turned it into a pretty good blog post, including how Jesus spoke about lost things in several parables. I closed by saying, “So, Heavenly Father, help me find that thing and move on.”

If you missed that post you can find it HERE. https://dottieloveladyrogers.com/2021/05/25/lost/

On Thursday, I found the lost item and succinctly Tweeted, “I’m so thankful that God is good and is The Finder of Lost Things. They are never lost to Him, but to me, they sure are until He comes through for me.”

That is not one of the official Names of God, and I realize it’s not even an overt Biblical concept. He’s not our servant to do our bidding, especially when we’ve lost something because of our own carelessness. But it is a little glimpse of God’s grace.

Not only did I find the paperwork I was looking for, but two other items I had given up searching for months ago. One was a notebook with a silver cover that had writing and journal notes from 2015 through mid-2019. I looked at home for months, then decided I must have left it at church somewhere. No one I talked to at church remembered seeing it.

The other thing was my favorite pair of earbuds. I knew I took those to the Blue Lake Christian Writer’s Retreat in March 2019 but couldn’t remember bringing them home. I’ve tried to find a similar pair to purchase but couldn’t find what I wanted.

Losing those two things had bothered me for quite a while, but I finally gave up thinking about them. (Almost) Finding them within thirty minutes of each other, after missing them for two years, was a serendipitous occasion. I have to attribute it to a little grace gift from the Lord. It says that nothing is outside of His sight or His care.

He knew Adam and Eve weren’t literally lost when He said, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9) He made Himself known to Hagar as El Roi, The God Who Sees. (Gen. 16:13) When the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt, He heard their cries for relief, and Exodus 2:25 says, “God saw the people of Israel – and God knew.” There are other examples, but best of all is, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Each of those instances refers to God seeing people, not papers, worthless trinkets, or even valuable items. He cares for His children.

But that love for us encompasses caring for the things that bother us. By His mercy, He seems to extend Himself to help us find those papers, items, or trinkets sometimes.

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalm 138:8  (NKJV)

This doesn’t mean that we can expect Him to show us where every missing item is located. It doesn’t work that way. He’s not our God-On-Demand. Often we have to face the natural and logical consequences of our negligence.

I realize many people would chalk this up to coincidence. As a Christian, I believe in God’s providence way more than luck. He has proved himself to me too many times to dismiss cases like this.

And when He demonstrates His care for me, looking after me in so many ways, it’s a tremendous faith booster. And I just had to tell you all about it.

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” Genesis 16:13  ESV

Shalom, Dottie