I couldn’t believe my eyes. It had been there all along. I’m talking about my missing Sunday newspaper. I assumed it had never been delivered because about three weeks ago, Sunday was the day of the all day snowstorm. Afterward, my driveway had been cleared, leaving mounds of snow on either side. And our street had been plowed, leaving snow piled high on both sides of the street. I didn’t even bother looking for my paper that day or in the days afterward, because I thought it had never arrived in the first place. The bitterly cold temperatures remained with us in the days after the storm, as did the snow which continued to cover the ground.

So imagine my surprise just a few days ago, when upon arriving home from work, I saw my newspaper lying on the ground next to my mailbox. Enough snow had melted during the day to finally reveal the truth – my paper had been there all along! And my paper was no worse for the wear. It was wrapped in plastic as usual and it was not wet nor damaged in any way. However, this paper was now definitely outdated. It was literally full of yesterday’s news. Many things had happened in the intervening weeks, rendering the contents of my newly found newspaper virtually irrelevant.

Still, this discovery was an unexpected surprise and in some strange way a reminder to me not to give up on what is lost because there is hope that it might yet be recovered at some future time. Could it be that what I presume is lost, might not be lost after all, but just temporarily hidden out of sight, buried beneath whatever life has dumped onto my life? (like a few feet of snow) It was just such an unexpected discovery, probably because I hadn’t been looking for my missing paper. I held no thought that it was even there.

I choose to take hope from my mundane miracle moment of discovering something I thought missing, gone forever – something that was actually there all along, just out of sight, buried beneath a few feet of frozen snow. I had only to wait for the thaw to reveal its presence.

This incident reminds me of a much bigger “lost and found” story, one with a happy ending. It is the story of the lost son. Unlike me, who had forgotten about my paper and had no concern for it, this father never forgot about his lost son. He was always watching and waiting for his absent son. Then one day this father’s faithful hope was rewarded. It happened like this. The son said to himself –

“I will set out and go back to my father . . . But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. . . . But the father said to his servants, ‘For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:18-24)

That’s definitely cause for celebration – when what is lost is found! The father, who never gave up on his lost son during his son’s absence, said this to his older son –

” ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ” (Luke 15:31-32)

Be reminded, be encouraged – like the father, I will always keep watching, keep waiting for the thaw to reveal what has been presumed lost to now be found. Great joy awaits! God will find you! The lost will be found!

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

that’s me and you and all those we love . . .

we can sing with the hymn – “I once was lost but now am found” – thanks to our Heavenly Father’s amazing grace – He is always watching and waiting for our return – ready to celebrate when we do

sincerely, Grace Day