God Cares for Our Hearts
My father loved ducks.
We never knew why; he just did.
He loved the cut-sew-and-stuff mallard one of us made him for Christmas. He loved the print of a duck painting that hung in his office. We had a duck doorstop. After my dad’s death, my mom gave me the little brass pelican fob that was always on his key ring. I have treasured it and carried it with my own keys.
Yesterday afternoon I noticed it was gone.
I don’t know how long it been missing. Yesterday I had run some errands that included the post office, a big box store and the grocery store. I couldn’t tell you where I had been in the previous few days. It was a tiny thing, but the loss felt large, and there was no way to even begin to look for it. Heavy sighs. Lots of heavy sighs.
I was trying to accept the fact that I had lost a bit of my father’s legacy. He was the author of eight books ranging from Bible commentaries to church renewal to a very personal examination of his life and faith. He built the house that is my sister’s family’s home. He gave me my love for learning, for digging into the mysteries I encountered in the Word. He passed on to me the joy of playing with words: puns, jokes, puzzles, word etymology, alfalfa language. These are my enduring treasures, but this bit of brass was a regular reminder of whose I was.
And now it was gone.
I had just let out another little whimper to Papa-God about this loss. Another heavy sigh. Oh well. Here’s another heartbreak to exchange for a promise at the manger…
In preparation to host neighbors for a Christmas open house, I was prompted to take some pass-alongs and a bagged meal out to the car, ready to give to a street-corner requestor. The bag was coming open and I had to set it down in the driveway to adjust it. There on the crumbled, leaf- and rock-strewn driveway was a little bit of shiny brass! The pelican!
Oh Papa-God! Thank you for restoring this bit of my history…for caring for my heart.
There were and are no guarantees that we will always get our lost things returned, but He will always care for our hearts.
I pray for you the merriest Christmas you are able to receive, and the capacity to receive more, from the One who has gone through it all and knows how to get us through it.
Following Jesus every day in the everyday,
Christi
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