The Lost Child

I’ve discovered that when I go on holiday, God goes with me. In November 2012, Kevin and I and the children flew to Sydney for a family wedding. There were ten of us from New Zealand and we met up with extended family over there.

During the course of the weekend, a group of us were at the Westfield Mall in Bondi waiting for my son to come out of Target. As we leaned against the rails, I watched the shop entrance while the others chatted. Soon after a lady dashed out of the doors looking distressed and I wondered if she was feeling sick.

 

She disappeared and then reappeared, even more distraught, looking in every direction. “You’ve lost a child,” I thought and started to pray silently as she went back into the store.

The third time she came out she was frantic, tears streaming, running up to strangers, showing them how tall the child was with her hand. She had lost part of herself, her own flesh and blood. At that stage I poked Kevin and told him what was going on. He gathered the family around and we prayed the mother would find her child.

That moment has lingered with me and God used it to show me a number of things:

1)    When you lose something you love, a part of you, it hurts, it’s very distressing and you go looking for it.

2)    The woman’s pain was so great that she reached the place where she had to ask others for help.

3)    In spite of all her activity and apparent distress, I was the only one in my family who noticed her pain. People are busy and self absorbed and often don’t notice your need for help.

Life is hard and we all get bumped and bruised along the way and sometimes we lose part of ourselves on the journey. It could be one particular thing or maybe several:

·        Ability to trust

·        Sense of self worth

·        Hope for the future

·        Joy

·        Peace

·        Vision

·        Confidence

·        Ability to love and forgive

·        Faith in God

 

 

I’ve been on that journey and I understand what it is to lose part of yourself. I also know that sometimes you have to ask for help to find what you’ve lost. God is the restorer, the healer, the one who makes all things new but sometimes we need each other to remind us of this.

You’re probably wondering if that mother found her child. The answer is she did. She appeared shortly after we prayed, child in her arms, overjoyed, weeping, embracing him like she’d never let go. There was no anger, no blame, just love.

If you’ve lost a part of yourself, it’s not too late to go looking for what’s missing. God wants to do a work of restoration for you today and you can know the same joy the mother did when reunited with her child. It was pure, straight from her heart and absolutely unforgettable. I wish the same for you.