Lost and Found

Luke 15:8-10  “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

This passage is about the rejoicing over the lost being found, but it is also about the search. Which leads me to the following memory.

It was dark and rainy as I drove to perform a wedding at a local restaurant.  I was stopped at a traffic light when a van pulled along side me.  The driver honked his horn to get my attention and tell me to roll my window down.   After I complied, he told me that I had lost my hubcap a few traffic lights earlier.  I could not turn back because of the wedding, so I made a mental note of my location so I could return in the morning.  I was pretty sure I’d find it due to that strange lost hubcap phenomena -- they are often leaning up against a pole, a tree, or a sign.  Research is still underway to determine if people are setting them there or if they do that on their own.  

I got up early on Saturday, and drove to the target area while looking back and forth to scan the road sides.  Once I arrived at the location where I thought the hubcap might be, I found nothing.  I drove a little further and went through an intersection where I caught a glimpse of a hubcap lying on its back in the grass. I turned around at the next light, came back to the intersection, pulled down the side road and parked my car. I walked up to the hubcap and was relieved to see a Toyota logo.  I thought, “Great, I can’t believe I found it!” I picked it up, walked back to my car only to find out that it didn’t match.  I took it back to the corner and set it up against a pole. I happened to notice another hubcap about 10 feet away. It also had a Toyota logo!  I took it back to my car only to find out that it didn’t match, either.  I set it up next to the other one, walked back to my car and made a U-turn. 

When I pulled up to the traffic light, I saw something shining in the grass on the other side of the road.   I said, “There it is!  I can’t believe it’s over there.”  I drove across the street, parked my car, and walked over to the hubcap. It wasn’t mine. I set it up against a bush, got back in my car, made a U-turn and pulled up to the traffic light. I was now looking at the other two hubcaps I had set up a moment earlier and thought, “Whoever lost those won’t have any trouble finding them now.  I’m really a nice person.”  

As I waited for the light to turn green, I noticed something shining about 20 feet away from the two hubcaps.  I thought, “No, it can’t be.”  I drove across the East bound lane and turned West, pulled my car to the side of the road, got out and picked up the hubcap.  It wasn’t mine. I set it up against the bush, and noticed another hubcap on the other side of the bush.  My heart sank as I realized that it wasn’t from a Toyota!  As I stepped back over the bush, I saw another hubcap lying low in high grass.  I was afraid to believe. I had had too much disappointment for one day.  I walked over to it and saw a Toyota logo. (What is it with Toyota hubcaps?) My heart skipped a beat.  I picked it up, turned and looked at my car to see if the design matched, and broke into a great big smile!  Me, my car, and my lost hubcap had been reunited! 

What would my ministry be like, if I searched for the lost as earnestly as I searched for that hubcap?