Keep Searching

1 Chronicles 16:11 "Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him."

 

One thing I've learned in life, is that we all search out things of value. 

 

Three large bags of bagels were donated this week for our Community Sunday Breakfast and lots of preparations needed to be done.  Thankfully we had two of our teenage boys hanging out that evening at the church and they were able to assist with preparations.  The bagels had to be cut for the next morning and the rest bagged for people to take home for the week. With seven people helping it was speedily accomplished.

 

In the midst of the work one of the boys removed his ring from his finger so it wouldn't become a bother while working with his hands handling the bagels.  Focused with determination of getting the task done he left his ring on the table without any concern.  So happens that my curious two year old son was innocently discovering new found items and came across the teenagers ring, "Ah, a new toy!", he must have thought in his little head as he took it to his collection of toys. 

 

After everything was finished, the boy began questioning where his ring had gone knowing he saw my two year old son take it.  But by now the ring was missing. Where it went only my two year old knew. The search was on! Under every chair, table, and counter searching and seeking for this lost ring.  My two year old son, Cody was asked numerous of times what he had done with the ring and he responded, "The Garbage!" Determined to find that ring the boy gloved up and searched every trash can in the place.  Then took the cans to the dumpsters and pulled every piece of trash out to double check. 

 

Much time had passed and I went into my room to continue my preparations for Sunday morning service. As I came back out the teenager was still in a search.  Feeling remorse for the boy as he seemed frustrated and a bit irritated the contagious act of searching and seeking now came to me and I was determined to help him find his ring, actually so did everyone else. We asked Cody again where he had put the ring this time showing him what a ring looked like and he responded pointing to his mom, "In the forest!" My wife was wearing a t-shirt with some tree print on it and we didn't understand what he was saying because he never handed it to his mother. Now quite a long time passed and my wife was finally going to call it a night.  When she went to change in to her sleepwear and laid on the bed she thought about what my son had said, "In the forest" and remembered while we were all preparing the bagels he kept sticking things in her back pocket of her jeans. She gets out of bed and grabs her jeans and eureka the ring was found!

 

My son wasn't lying that he was throwing things into the garbage because during all our work we were asking him to throw things away. As well as when his response was in the forest, in his two year old mind he was playing a game and the back pocket of his mothers jeans became a hidden forest unknown to anyone else simply because she was wearing a tree printed t-shirt.  The teenager was now relieved his ring was found and amused that it was so close all this time while he was searching in trash cans and dumpsters just to find it.

 

Sometime it takes the value of a ring to show us how our search for the Lord should be. He wants us to search him out! To seek him! When we put value on the Lord our search will become contagious and others will want to join in.  At the same time God speaks his word and tells us where we can find him.  In our search, we might find ourselves in heaps of garbage, but God will always pull us out and if we continue on our quest for the Lord we shall soon find that he was closer than we had expected. 

 

He was always there and we just needed to Keep Searching!

 

Don't give up and don't loose faith for the time of reaping is close at hand!