Lost and Found

 I typically put my wallet and vehicle keys in the same spot each evening. In my way of thinking, this saves time and mental energy of trying to find them. It is a habit I've tried to pass onto our sons unsuccessfully. Each morning I get ready without even considering where my wallet and keys are located. I grab them as Brenda and I walk out the door early in the morning. 

I noticed yesterday morning that I could not find my wallet. It was not in the usual location. Since we live less than one minute from the church I did not concern myself greatly. I forgot all about it until this morning. I remembered that I did not locate the wallet the day before. I dedicated myself to a more thorough search. I checked my jeans, checked on the floor of the closet, the shelf in the closet, and even emptied my dirty clothes hamper. I recalled the last time I used it was at a basketball game on Thursday night. I drove to the school to the exact parking space I parked in with no success. 

I shared this concern with our financial secretary and she prayed right on the spot that God would reveal it and that we would find it. Several hours later a thought popped into my head. I vaguely remembered putting my wallet in a dresser drawer to keep it hidden in case of a break in. I totally forgot that until after Leesa prayed. Sure enough, that is where that wallet sat safely and snugly in my tee shirt drawer. 

I learned two valuable lessons from this incident. First, I got anxious for nothing. My mind entertained thoughts that I lost it somewhere in public and whoever found it was using my cards to purchase who knows what. I started to panic thinking I needed to call the bank and cancel my cards and get hold of the Department of Public Safety to get a new driver's license, though I just did this back in June. All of that anxiety for nothing. 

Sometimes we can let our thoughts get away from us. We entertain worst case scenarios when in the end it turns out we had nothing to be concerned about. Much of what we worry about never happens. The little bit that does happen is not nearly as bad as we thought it would be. [Phil 4:6-7] is good medicine to help cope with anxious thoughts. To summarize those verses, let us pray about everything and not worry about anything. 

The second thing that incident reminded me of, is that God is concerned about the details of our everyday lives. In the big scheme of things going on in the world, a lost wallet is not that big a deal. It could have been inconvenient to have to cancel cards and get a new driver's license. It was not life or death. It was not the threat of nuclear war. It was not cancer. It was just a wallet. Yet, God heard Leesa's prayer and answered by bringing back to my memory putting the wallet in the dresser drawer. I racked my brain for hours contemplating where I misplaced it. Not one time did I remember putting it in the drawer until after Leesa prayed. God is concerned about us. He is interested in large and little things we encounter daily. Why didn't I pray about that matter? I relied on my memory and reasoning skills. Leesa trusted God and He answered. I wish you could have seen her face when I walked in the office holding that little black leather wallet. She had a praise session on the spot squirming in her chair. I hope to long remember the lessors learned from a lost wallet.