I finally committed to going to New Jersey with my family for Thanksgiving. My great aunt and three of her four children live there and she invited my family to spend the holiday with them. I only get to see my aunt and cousins when someone in my family gets married or goes home to be with the Lord so after much debate (and making sure my grandma was still going to make her stuffing); I gave in. My last minute decision forced me to start packing this morning. (good thing I am a professional at procrastinating). After making sure my sister knew that our trip to New Jersey didn’t change my normal attire of sweatpants on Thanksgiving Day; I began putting items in my suitcase. I managed to pack quickly but I couldn’t find my black belt or my travel size container of contact solution. I wasn’t concerned about my contact solution because I knew I had left it in Mannington but where was my black belt! If it weren’t for my grandma, I would have been traveling to east without my pink coat that I left in her car Sunday after church. And I don’t want to imagine the time I would have spent looking for that.
An interesting fact that I had stored in my brain, (probably from my best friend Amy who possesses all kinds of random facts) is that the average American spends one year of their life searching for lost items. An entire year of our lives is spent looking for misplaced keys, hidden remote controls, and the receipt we desperately need to return the Christmas sweater from our great aunt. Obviously, I fall into this statistic. I actually spend part of every morning looking for something I need before I can leave my house. My quest to find the shirt I need to match my already ironed pants or my pursuit to locate my coffee thermos in the mornings may only take a few minutes from my day but nonetheless when I finally walk out my front door; I am already behind schedule. Despite our efforts most of us will admit that we still find ourselves searching for lost items on a daily basis. But how many of us are searching for the missing piece to our lives? Perhaps we are trying to fill the void in our lives with drugs, alcohol, lust, gambling, sexual desires, money, fame, children, spouses, or careers. Or maybe depression, fear, defeat, or shame has filled our hearts allowing no room for anything else. We can spend an entire lifetime trying to fill the missing piece inside each of our hearts but we will fail every time friends. The puzzle of our hearts won’t be complete until we allow Christ to come into our lives. He is the missing link to each and every one of us. Jesus doesn’t spend His time looking for material things; He spends His time looking for His lost children.
Jesus had found me over and over again in my life. He found me when I was a rebellious teenager in search of someone to love me. He found me when I turned to alcohol and drugs to mask the pain of my life. He found me when I sat alone in my apartment desperate for the answers to life. And He will find me again because Jesus never calls off His search party. He will continue to search for the remainder of our lives. I no longer need to search for the missing piece of my life because I have asked Christ into my heart and life but I can promise you all that there will be days when I am searching for more than my black belt. Because Jesus knows my name and knows all of His sheep; He will come searching for me when I start to stray from His flock. When I need direction or need herded in; He will be there. It may be impossible to keep track of everything in our lives but it doesn’t have to be impossible to fill our hearts with Jesus. He created all of us to love Him and to live for Eternity. He wants you to call off your search party. Wherever you are, Jesus wants to find you. He wants to take over your heart and your life and add you to His flock of sheep; to His eternal family.
Verse to remember: Luke 15:3-6 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4“suppose you have 100 sheep and lose one of them. Do you not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until you find it? 5 And when he finds it he puts it on his shoulders and goes home. 6 and then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, Rejoice with me I have found my lost sheep.”
No comments:
Post a Comment