My heart sank. I was sick to my stomach immediately and my
body temperature seemed to swing from burning to ice cold and back to burning
with each heartbeat. I had lost something that I couldn’t imagine living the
rest of my life without. In no way would this feeling of panic, fear, loss, and
personal disappointment ever be far from my thoughts. I had lost my wedding
ring, and therefore lost a part of myself as well.
I couldn’t just sit back and accept that my ring was gone
though. I told my husband and children and they immediately joined in on the
“Great Ring Hunt of 2013”. My mind was in continual turmoil. It raced day and
night trying to think of new places to look. My heart was broken and I cried
myself to sleep. I enlisted friends to pray and assist in searching too.
I
was crushed and devastated. Sure, I had a jewelry box full of other rings…but
they weren’t THIS ring. THIS ring held my heart and had been part of me for
over sixteen years. It represented a love and a commitment that was truly a
part of who I was, not just an item I owned.
I prayed continually for God to supernaturally reveal to me
the location of my ring, but for days I searched and was sick with
fear that my ring was in fact gone forever. I cried almost continually, and
could think of little else than the missing ring. My actions were consumed by
the search, my thoughts were overwhelmed by it, and my words could only utter
my concerns and my loss.
Finally, after a week of absolute torture, I brushed back
the curtain in my bedroom. There, on the window sill was my treasured wedding
ring. I had spent the last week trying to “continue with life” and knowing I
would forever keep an eye out for my missing ring…until the day I found it. The
moment of recovery that I had hoped and prayed for had arrived!
I was so incredibly relieved that I called my husband and
all of my friends. We all breathed a communal sigh of relieve and celebrated
together that my treasure had been located safely and was back where it was
supposed to be. My friends and family were overjoyed for me, and I finally had
peace in my heart and could stop feeling sick and consumed. We truly celebrated
and rejoiced together.
Shortly after recovering my ring, I came across a scripture
that I had read many times. I thought I understood it completely, but looking
at it through the lenses of my recent loss I could see the deeper value and
meaning.
Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten
silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and
search carefully until she finds it? And
when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says,
‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In
the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner who repents.”
I had just been the woman doing everything
she could to find something of value that was missing. I had recent insight on the
deep sense of loss, the angst of a lengthy search, and the beautiful celebration
of recovery.
In this Scripture, we are the missing
treasure. God is the woman who we belong to as believers. Just as I spent all of my energies seeking my ring, and the lady in scripture spent hers looking for the coin, God's heart is anxious for our return to Him. When we do return to Him, He celebrates in Heaven as does the angels. You are of that much value to God's heart! You are His treasure that He will continue seeking and searching to recover.
Even though we
believe, there are times that we get caught up in things that aren’t of Him and
we become “lost” to our own devices. God will continue to shed light into our
dark places so that the way back to Him is revealed and available to us. It is
up to us to repent and turn back to Him and the place He has designed us to be.
When we do this…Angels rejoice at our repentance and there is a celebration in
Heaven because we have returned to our rightful place with our Father.
Be encouraged today that He is still with
you. You are still of great value to Him, and He earnestly wants you back even
more than I wanted my wedding ring back! Please allow God to shine His light
into the dark places of your life and allow Him to guide to back into the
safety of His care!
You are God's great treasure!
