I hate losing stuff! I mean I SERIOUSLY hate it!
There is something that annoys me even more though. It is having someone who does not really care about my loss or what it was, either telling me to get over it or trying to help me to retrace my steps or try to remember where I lost it, even if they knew nothing of my journey. Like I would not be gutted about losing it in the first place , IF I knew any of that stuff. It is as if they just don’t get it. And, while I am venting…..just a bit …., the loss of other things too; like losing knowing who I am, our planet’s future, biodiversity and why do people leave – lost relationships. Why do people have to die? As I said, it hurts and I really hate losing stuff!
To me it is not just about the thing that is missing, it is about the way I feel whenever it happens. Sadness! Inconvenience and worry. Anger at myself for letting it happen – that’s a given, all of which often leads to trying to find someone else to blame! Looking in the same place and through the same things over and over again – mindless repetition of a meaningless search over and over again That is so frustrating because something going missing is such a waste of time and emotional energy and it cannot just be solved by opinions others have or even well-intentioned ‘try this’ or ‘do that’ advice alone.
So, what’s the point to all this?
Firstly, losing something does not necessarily have to be the end of the story. Finding what was lost can become the most positive thing that ever happened to us. Also when one finally finds ‘that’ precious item, it renews a broken relationship or affirms a sense of purpose; it is as if a new chapter starts and a new energy and optimism replaces the anguish, hopelessness and pain that dominated everything before. There is no feeling quite like it – when the LOST is found.
Jesus actually really understood that perfectly. That is why, on one occasion, he explains He came to earth just ‘to seek (and save) the LOST’. That’s the point and purpose for everything Jesus came to do. Lost things matter to the One who lost them. God’s creation, our failing and hurting world, was the sole reason Jesus came. Not just to tell us about the God we had lost connection with through our self-wilfulness and greed, but to find us layered over with confusion and hurts that left us feeling alone – lost without hope! Religion is about the crowd, but being found by Jesus is about a relationship. One thing I have learnt the hard way is that getting lost in the crowd happens very easily. There are scores of lonely people in the most densely populated areas of the world. But if you take the time to read or explore what Jesus said about all this, it becomes very clear that giving individual value to every person (or whatever precious thing that needs to be found) is the key to understanding why heaven literally has a party every time ‘the LOST is found’.
It seems to me that the joy of ‘finding’ is far greater than any need to apportion blame or point a finger in criticism for being lost. It is as if the ‘lostness’ of the past is eclipsed by something far more important and lasting.