Lessons among the lost and found

Yesterday, I really wanted to blog before I went to bed. I like the string of consecutive days I had accumulated posting on the blog this month. But I reached a point in the evening where I knew it was time to go to bed, and nothing quick and easy came to mind to write about.
Almost as soon as I awoke today, I realized what I could have written about. Yesterday afternoon and evening, I experienced again one of those all-too-familiar, why-am-I-like-this, please-help-me-God! situations.

About 10 p.m., as I was starting to wrap up my day by putting things away, I couldn't find some of what I had bought at Mardel a few hours earlier. I went to the garage to see whether I had left a bag in the car. No, not there. I looked in the bedroom and the bathroom, in case I had it in hand when I went about my business upon arriving home after 6. Nope, neither of those places, either. I checked in the car again, just in case; it still wasn't there.

It was too late to reach anyone at the store, so I made a note to call right after they opened today, which I thought would be 9 a.m. I called, and sure enough, they had the shopping bag with the things I had left at the counter. Thank you, God, I said aloud, reminding myself to be grateful to God even when the outcome isn't as positive. I will pick it up later today.

I didn't even panic this time. I'm sure the biggest part of that is because it was just about $30 worth of things. It wasn't like those times I've left a purse or credit card somewhere. That's when the panic and sense of urgency hits. Yet, even if one of those had been missing this time, all I would have been able to do is pray for calmness and awareness that it's not the end of my world, then wait until the store opened to call. I probably would not have slept as well, however.

I know I'm not alone in leaving, losing or misplacing things. Earlier in the day, I had listened as two friends shared their recent experiences. One was getting ready to check out with a purchase of less than $2, and all she had was a $100 bill. She thought she might have enough change to cover the purchase, so she started counting. She found the needed amount and made the purchase. Much later, she realized the $100 was missing. She called the store, and no one had reported finding it. How disheartening. And what a sense of loss. I expected her to tell us she eventually found it. That wasn't the case this time. However, she told us she was able to believe that if someone found the money and kept it, they must have needed it more than she did. She turned it over to God in faith that her loss in some way met another person's spiritual need. I like that idea.

The other woman had lost her cellphone. I didn't hear all of the details, but she was asking for forgiveness for how she acted while she was without her phone. At the least, I could tell she must have been irritable and perhaps said some unkind things. It's possible she was accusatory. When she found the phone, it was where she had put it, although not where she intended to leave it.

I definitely know that feeling of embarrassment and shame when I get bent out of shape and perhaps blame others or at least feel self-pity, then find out I alone was responsible for my perceived malady. My friend's sharing and apologies and asking for forgiveness for her behavior reminded me of the grace I always receive when I do similar things.