Lost!

The haystack was high—bale after bale piled up and surrounded by loose hay just begging for running, jumping, rolling.Grandboy Ethan squealed as he clambered to the top, then tumbled down to the bottom. Again and again.  Suddenly I realized he was planning to slide down the far side.  My turn to run—around to the other side.No Ethan.  Where could he be?  Under the hay?  Back on top?  I looked everywhere.  I called his name.  I asked his brother.  “What does he look like?” a dad asked.  “What color is he wearing?”  a mom inquired.  Debbie arrived back with the other boy.  I headed out in widening circles.Where could he have gone?  To the ponies?  For a candy apple? After the ducks in the pond?  I searched everywhere.  I asked for help.  Ethan was lost and I would not quit looking until I found him.As I arrived back at the haystack empty-handed and distraught, Debbie was pulling Ethan out of the nearby long, blow-up, crawl-through caterpillar.We cried.  We rejoiced.  We reprimanded and hugged.  We thanked those who helped.Sounds a lot like Luke 15:If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.  When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.”(Luke 15:4-6)Sounds a lot like God.From the very first lostness, God has been seeking.  Pursuing.  Entreating.And when He finds a lost loved one:In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! (Luke 15:7)How were you found?  Is there someone you love who is lost?  Let me know in the Comments.C 2011 Judy Douglass