Lost Glasses
My daughter snuck towards me in the dark, as she was supposed to be in bed waiting to be tucked in for the night. “Mom,” she whispered into my ear. “I can’t find my glasses. I put them in the case and now they are not there!” She tends to whisper when she knows she might end up in trouble. She was making sure her school uniform was set out and everything else was ready for the morning when she shockingly realized that her brand-new glasses were missing.
This may not seem like a big deal, and in the grand scheme of things it probably is not, however, she has only had glasses for 3 months, and one of those months they were at the eye doctor’s office awaiting new lenses (with a prescription adjustment) and new frames. You see, her lenses came in and I received a call stating that they could not install them because both hinges on her frame were broken! Gah! We just paid for this new pair of glasses, which were ALREADY broken beyond repair. (Thankfully, they come with a one-time free replacement option, which I was hoping we would not use quite yet.)
Let’s just say that I found myself in sudden panic mode, searching for the “lost” glasses. I looked under her clothes laid out on her bed, through her blankets, under the dresser, and in her drawers, in case they possibly fell in somehow. No glasses! I turned to her, “Did you have them on when we came home from dance class?” “Yes,” she replied. “When do you remember last having them on?” I asked. She insisted that she had them on until she changed into jammies, and then they went into the case. The motto for glasses in our home is, “On your face, or in the case!” She was certain they went in the case so we were both stumped. We searched the clothes that were dropped down the laundry chute, in case the glasses went down with her clothes. No such luck!
We tucked her into bed and I decided to wait until morning to resume the search, hoping they would appear to us.
How often do we misplace something important to us, and we frantically search for that lost item? We set aside all other matters and focus on that one thing. We have singleness of purpose at that moment and become upset or anxious if we are unable to complete the task of finding the item in question.
I am not ashamed to say that I prayed that night for revelation or wisdom that would lead me toward finding the glasses. I heard it said a long time ago that “We do not have, because we do not ask,” James 4:2. So often we go about our days pressing and striving in our own strength when God really wants to bless us if we will just take a beat and talk to Him.
What if we sought after God like we do when we lose something of great value to us?
Morning came, and the search began again. This time I found myself with my flashlight searching under the bed and behind every piece of furniture (as though the glasses grew legs and walked to a very secret hiding spot). I was feeling more anxious about having to purchase a new pair of glasses because that does not fit our budget at the moment, when my other daughter suggested looking in my car. She remembered seeing them on her sister on our way home from dance and she had an inkling that they may have been left in the car. Wouldn’t you know that I opened the back seat car door and there they were! Sitting in the door handle with the mini book she was reading in the car.
Relief swept over me and I proudly returned the lost glasses to their owner.
She was even more relieved because the consequence of losing her glasses would have been great and now she has avoided that.
The answers to our questions many times come in ways we would not expect and cannot explain. I trust that the suggestion to look in the car was directly from God. That may sound far-fetched to some, but I had asked all of our children if they had any ideas where the glasses were when I was initially searching at night. It was not until the timer sounded the following morning, indicating that it was time to leave for school, that my other daughter suggested the car. We have countless examples of wisdom passed through her to us, and I honestly believe this is another example of that.
God can speak through people in our lives to give us answers and guide us along the path He has set for us if we will simply ask.
