Lost and Found

Have you ever lost something that meant a lot to you?  I am not talking about piece of paper or a note, but something that you couldn't live without.  This week, we experienced a lost and found story that touched my heart.

I have to admit, that from time to time, I judge the people who abandoned the children of BG.  How could they do just a harmful thing to an innocent person?  Everyday, I have to surrender this sin and move on to helping the children be children. This week I saw a different side of child abandonment.

Two years ago a husband and a wife got into a fight.  The husband took the couples child from South Africa and fled, not telling his wife where they went.  He never returned.  For two years, the wife searched all over South Africa for her child. She documented everywhere she went, the date she was there and the answer she received.  For two years she went to bed at night wondering where her child was and if they were okay.  For two years she dreaded the worst, but never gave up, she searched and searched for her child.  On a limb, she contacted Lesotho to see if by any chance her child was there.  The government did some searching and found her child at BG.  Because of her detailed notes about her journey, the government knew that this lady did not abandon her child.  This week, her search was over and I watched her meet her child again after two years of empty searching.  She never gave up and tonight she doesn't have to worry, because she knows where her child is.

This story reminds me of the parable of the Lost Sheep.  Jesus said, "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.  Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'" (Luke 15:4-6). Just as the shepherd searches for his lost sheep and this mother searched for her child, God searches for those that have walked away from the flock.  Just like this mother, He will not give up no matter how far he has to go to find them.  He will do everything in His power to make sure the people He loves are near to Him.

May we all learn from the love of a mother, who wouldn't give up, and continue searching for the people that God has placed in our lives that need to return back to the flock.