Title: It’s Terrifying To Be Lost.
Author: Laurie Clark
Scripture: Luke 15: 11-32
Devotional:
Years ago, long before cell phones, I visited my cousin and his family in Buena Vista, Colorado. One morning, his wife and I went hiking. Following a trail, we talked until we were above the tree line – such beautiful views. Coming down, we kept talking and didn’t realize somewhere we left the trail. The sun was going down, it was getting cold, and we were turned around, lost. We found an animal trail to follow, and eventually it ran into an old logging road, overgrown, which we followed out into a parking lot with a pay phone. It was nearly 8pm. We called my cousin’s husband who answered just as he was leaving the house to meet people to start looking for us. He figured out where we were and came and got us. I still remember the feeling of being found.
It’s terrifying to lose someone.
When our son was 6 years old, our family made a trek to Disney World. Standing in line for the train ride, I looked around and asked, “Where’s Luke?” I knew he had stopped to tie his shoe, but I thought he was with us. Immediately, we sprang into action. While Greg alerted Disney workers, I ran back to the last place I saw him and waited. In what seemed like an eternity, I saw him running over a bridge toward me, looking around. I shouted, ran to him, and scooped him up. Tears of gratitude. He was lost, and then, like magic, he was found.
In this parable of extravagant love, the younger son was lost to himself. Finally, he realized he wanted to be found, to reconnect with his true self, to belong again to people who loved him, so he started his journey back.
It’s harder when we are lost and don’t realize it. That’s how I understand the elder brother, the one who believes he’s done everything right. In God’s world, love, forgiveness, and acceptance are not merit-based. Love is for all, and when this Love finds us, or when we find this Love, it’s the kind of being found that can heal us from the inside out.
When have you felt lost? And how does it feel to be found? To feel reconnected, to belong?
Devotional Prayer:
Holy One, you know what it’s like to be alone in the garden in the middle of the night. Be with us as we open our hearts to be found. Be with us as we turn our faces to find others. Amen.