Lost and found

 Yesterday we heard the news that a bird which everyone had thought had been extinct for 150 years was alive and well and living in the forests of Indonesia   https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/25/black-browed-babbler-found-in-borneo-180-years-after-last-sighting

By any standards this has to be good news.  We hear so much about the loss of species from the planet. but maybe this goes to prove that actually our animal friends are more resilient than we give them credit for.  It's always nice to find something which has been lost.

Last night Keith was watching a film - Im not sure what it was but it was set during the American civil war and I just happened to glance at the screen when some music came on to see a man playing the bones in a band.  I'm not quite sure how I knew that he was playing the bones as Im pretty sure Ive never actually seen them being played in real life.  But I did grow up with a step-mother who played the washboard and the spoons so it was probably a piece of information I had squirreled away somewhere.   I watched the skill of the man on the television playing the instrument and felt sad that this is a skill and a sound that has mostly been lost nowadays.   When was the last time you heard someone playing spoons, bones or a washboard?   I know that there are still pockets and places keeping the old traditions alive.  But much is getting lost as we steam forward in this era of new technologies.

Things get lost and die out.  Things we thought were lost and gone are re-discovered.  What is God saying today?

Well, I think there is alot of lost and found in the Bible and therefore in our lives as followers of Jesus.  There are lost coins, lost sheep, lost sons, lost nations, lost hopes and dreams.  There are found sheep, found inheritances, found destinies, found relationships and a found saviour. 

I dont know about you but this past year has been one of losing and finding for me.  I lost my Dad.  I lost a sense of connection with my fellow man.  I lost work, hobbies, time with friends.  I found new friendships, new work, new sleep patterns and a new pace of life.  I lost a sense of belonging and found a peace with just being myself.   It really has been such a weird time.  Im glad that through it all God has been in charge.  Im glad that He knows where the lost things are.  Some of them He may have taken away for good.  Some of them, like the bird in the forest, He might hide away for a while and then bring back when we least expect it.   Im so happy that when we walk with Him we are constantly finding new things.  There is always so much more to discover. 

lent is a time for reflection so maybe today I will spend a few moments being thankful, not only for the things I have found recently ( who knew that I was actually a pretty good shelf stacker and that I really enjoy doing that? :D ) but also for the things I have lost.  If we trust God then we have to believe that even in the losses He is working for our good.  even if we dont understand, we can thank Him anyway.  Because we know He is good. All the time.  Even when we don't perceive it.