_Lost_

So last week I lost something very special to me. It was a gold necklace that was my Oma’s (grandmother) who then gave it to my mother who eventually gave it to me.

This is the last picture of me wearing it. :'(

At the beach with some crazy Americans

When I realised it was lost I began to search high and low for it. At the moment I live in a small one bedroom flat (koskosan) and there aren’t many places it could be but I’ve literally gone over the place with a fine tooth comb like three times.

All this searching made me think about Luke 15. It's three parables in a row about rejoicing over finding something that was lost. I guess I never really considered the search process when reading these stories. I have pondered how the shepherd leaves the many for one; God seeing each one as precious like the woman with the coins and the joy all of heaven feels when what was lost is found, like the father when his son returns despite his previous failings. And yes, these are some of the main points of the parables but after spending many hours over a span of days searching for something precious to me it kind of clicked that the search in itself is a sign of God's great love for us. In desperation to find the necklace I looked in every possible nook and cranny, I looked in places I'd already looked a number of times and asked everyone I could for help, even when I knew the chances of them being able to do anything were slim to none.

Searching (verb): Try to find something by looking or otherwise seeking carefully and thoroughly

I wonder how many times and different methods God uses/used in his search for a relationship with us before we are/were found?

We always think the lost are searching for something but reverse that. When something is lost the owner is the one searching. God is the one seeking for us carefully and thoroughly. Every time we turn down one of God's efforts to find us, he keeps searching until we are found.

He values every single person. Not one is less valuable.
Despite our past wrongs he doesn't stop seeking after us.
He is our father and won't give up until all his children are found.

Although I never found the necklace. I did find fresh revelation from my circumstance. If you open your eyes and heart God will use anything and everything to draw closer to you, its just another one of his methods of searching and seeking each individual out. He doesn't leave any stone unturned. The necklace was just a trinket but revelation can live in our hearts forever.