I Get That Woman - and a FaithWriters announcement

I know a lot of you folks are FaithWriters' folks, and I wanted to do something I generally don't. Many of you know I'm the blogger for the FaithWriters blog, but rarely do I point you to that blog. Today is different. Many of you may have heard that FaithWriters is now under new ownership. Well, there is an interview with the new owners, Michael and Bea Edwards, on the FaithWriters blog today. I'm very excited about them, and the future of FW - please stop by and get to know them!

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Jesus shared many of his lessons as parables. A story you can relate to is a great way to bring a message or truth home. And the stories Jesus told were right out of the lives of his contemporaries. He told tales of nets and fish to fishermen. To farmers, he spoke of seeds and weeds and vineyards. He told of sheep and banquets and landlords to those who dealt with those aspects in their own lives.

But I'm not a fisherman. Or a farmer. Nor have I ever tended sheep or been invited to a banquet. It's not that I don't appreciate these parables - or understand them. I just can't necessarily relate to them. Perhaps you're like me in that way.

But this past week, a parable that I'd often overlooked became extremely real to me.

Which one, you ask? Well, it is found in the book of Luke, in chapter 15, verses 8 through 10. The parable of the lost coin.

And why? Because I lost something very precious to me.

On Thursday morning, as I was doing my morning Bible reading, I turned my head from His Word to my left hand. And my mouth dropped.The large diamond in the middle of my engagement/wedding ring - the ring that had been passed down to my husband from his paternal grandmother - was gone.

My gut sunk. My body trembled. My brain freaked. I got down on my knees and searched. And searched. And searched. As I took my children to school, I thought about nothing but where else to look.

Can't see it too clearly - but that's the ring

I called church and told them not to vacuum (I'd been there the night before helping out in AWANA). I spent over an hour there, looking in every nook and cranny, with and without a flashlight, trying to find that diamond. Nothing else would enter my mind.

I looked and relooked in just about every place I could think of. And as I looked, the woman with the lost coin would not leave my mind. Her singleminded desire to find that coin - which many say was likely part of her dowry - became incredibly real to me. And I hoped for nothing more than to join her in her "rejoicing" when she - and I - found what we sought.

Jesus said this was the feeling the angels had when one sinner repents. And the search, it seemed, was just as passionate as that woman's - and mine.

I still haven't found my diamond (and tomorrow - my tech-free day - is going to be consumed with the continuing search), but even if I haven't got that, I DO get that woman's passion - and perhaps Jesus' too - for finding what is lost.
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Have you ever had a parable "come to life" like this one did to me?
Do you think you have a good grasp of how much Christ wants all of us to be saved? How has His Word spoken to you in a very specific way lately?

Comment below, and/ or stop by Living by Grace and we can chat a bit!



 
Traveling Rough Roads With God's Strength