When They’re Lost

Sometimes kids get lost. When I was little, I couldn’t find my mom in a grocery store. Thinking to check the parking lot, they asked me what kind of car we had. I told them it was a Cadillac convertible. I had no idea my mom had been joking with my dad about the make of car. She had said she wanted a Cadillac, but they couldn’t afford that, so, of course, she wasn’t out there in a Cadillac convertible. But eventually we were reunited and rode home in our modest, economical car.

Later, as an adult and before cell phones, I noticed a boy about ten years old wandering around alone in a shopping center. He didn’t seem alarmed or upset, but the absence of a parent bothered me. Finally, I asked, “Are you all right?”

Immediately his neutral face changed as he flung his hands up in a staccato wave any band conductor would envy. “Well, I’m LOST!” he said, as though I had just asked the dumbest question in the history of language. Translation: “How could I possibly be all right when I’m lost?”

Realizing his mom was probably frantic, I invited him to follow me to the lost and found office, explaining that she might be there. To my relief, she was. The reunion was emotional for her but rather like a day in the life for him. I imagine he went on to succeed at some incredibly stressful occupation that would drive most people crazy.

Can you relate to being lost, either geographically or emotionally? Everyone reacts differently, but, in any case, if another person has the heart to notice and care, a life can change. Lots of people feel spiritually lost, but you’d never know it from appearances.

Maybe you can be a person who makes a difference. Notice. Smile. Try. Who knows? A simple kind word or a pleasant conversation. could be a turning point that leads them to God where recovery and healing are always available, and they, in turn, will help someone else.

That’s how it works best.