Just this last week, my son got back from his week-long foray into Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New York City, a trip he took with his 7th and 8th grade class. It was a fast trip made even faster by the territory they covered while they were there. Some nights when I looked at the news on Reuters, I fully expected to see an unidentified flaming trail along the East Coast left by the group.
Although I did hear about the war memorials – the Korean War Memorial being his favorite – the Smithsonian and how much he enjoyed “The Lion King” on Broadway, my son is not someone who naturally shares information, so I knew that the golden nuggets from the trip would come out in the weeks to come.
But, one nugget that didn’t come out until I talked to his chaperone about the trip was that he had gotten lost the first day they were in D.C. at the National Archives, of all places. She said her heart was racing when she realized he wasn’t with the group, and was so happy when he was found. From that moment on she said he stayed right near her, and every once in a while she would see his big brown eyes through the crowd looking for her to make sure he knew where she was.
When I asked my son about it, I got a little different version of the events. He and three other classmates had wandered to the back to the National Archives building, while everyone else was around the front. Apparently, they knew exactly where they were, the problem is no one else did.
His teacher said it was less of a situation where they got lost, but more of a situation where they were separated. Even so, the three boys involved had a stern talking to and that did have an effect on my son, who stayed glued to his chaperone for the rest of the trip. And, although he did lose his identifying lanyard – he had to pay to replace it at least once – he didn’t get separated from the rest of the group again.
It did get me thinking though, about times when I knew exactly where I was, but no one else did. And, I imagine everyone has had that type of experience. In fact, for a lot of us, we don’t even know we’re lost, or separated from everyone else, until someone comes and finds us. It’s only then do we realize the situation we’re in, and realize we’ve been looking at the situation from our own skewed perspective.
My son didn’t think he was lost, just on side trip, yet, in reality he was separated from the main group and could easily have gone from just separated to lost. The same thing seems to happen to all of us at some point in our lives, and it’s not until the LORD comes for us that we realize the situation is very different from what we thought it was, which begs the question are you lost? And, would you even know it if you were?
“Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Luke 19:9-10
Hi Sarah.. This post reminds me of the times that I pray..Find me Lord. I feel lost and then I realize that He knows exactly where I am.. Still need to feel found though 🙂
xo Alicia
Hi Alicia,
Sometimes we do just sit there feeling lost until He impresses on us that He is right there, all the time, no matter where we are:) And your right, there’s something in us that needs to be found. The amazing thing is He reassures us of this just becaue of who He is.
Blessings, Sarah
Great post, Sarah.
And it gives a welcome, gentler-than-usual interpretation to “being lost.” How good of Jesus to gather us up and bring us back to where we’re supposed to be, without a lot of fire and brimstone (that might actually scare us away). I love the whole approach you take in this musing. Very nice.
Thank you Sunny, I just love the fact that He does come out and find us. Of course, it’s then our decision whether to follow Him or not. But, He is that loving , caring and kind that He does come out to give us that choice.
Blessings, Sarah