lost

ok, so.....i spent the bulk of my spare time this week looking for my sunday school books.....the student guide as well as teacher's version and an independent commentary by a semi-famous retired baptist minister.....i looked in places where these books should be, as well as places where they should not be.......several times over...and while i did not find the books, even after sorting through the recycled newspaper/catalog/magazine bins the garage, my car, my spouse's car.....under the bed....you get the picture.....i did find the mate to an earring......looking in obscure locations did inspire the cleaning out of the linen closet, whereupon i gave the goodwill over 8 sets of sheets that i either do not like, or that do not fit our bed very well........and i was also moved to go through all of my drawers.....and the closet.......the backseat of my car was overflowing with stuff when i headed out to the goodwill.....sadly, this altruistic act did not translate into divine intevention with those lost sunday school books.....i was able to construct a lesson.....we are studying bathsheba.....and i knew what we had already covered, and i made a reasonable choice as to where we were going next......i was relieved to discover that i was not the only person who spent the week looking for something that was not found.....we collectively lost quite a lot fo things.....some much more important or costly than what i cannot find.....and none of these things is as important as what was lost by the family who sit behind us in worship service....they lost their house to a fire on thursday.....the father barely made it out, as he was asleep in the basement after working all night, and did not hear the smoke alarms.....losing a few books pales to losing all that one owns.....