So it's been over a month since you've heard from me [Sorry about that], and I've been in four different countries since then [five, if you count a layover in Belgium].
I could spend this blog post telling you about a trip to Israel, recounting how we hiked to the cave where David hid from Saul in the desert [1 Samuel 24], how we swam in the Dead Sea, rode camels, looked out over the place where Jesus called Peter out upon the waters [Matthew 14], and stepped into the tomb where Jesus was [most likely] buried. I could attempt to express how amazing it was, as a very visual person, to be able to really see where many of the events on which my faith is based actually happened and what a pleasure it was to be driven around and hear about the history and culture from a friend who had lived there for almost two years.
Or I could spend the rest of this post telling you about meeting my family in England...how I saw my brother for the first time in over and year and a half and how I am so proud of and thankful for my family's love for each other and the Lord [not to mention their proficient planning skills that made our whole experience possible!]. I could tell you about how I lived every hopeless romantic's dream by touring the grand houses and castles used in Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice and The Princess Bride. I could use the next few paragraphs to write a rave review of the Harry Potter studios tour. Because if you've read the books and seen the movies as many times as I have, you would walk around in wide-eyed wonder too. I could also elaborate on how my favorite part of the trip was reuniting with friends who used to live in Rome and seeing one of their hometowns. And how this friend put it so interestingly..."If someone had told me when we first met, 'This is Elizabeth. One day you'll show her around Richmond and shoot arrows in your backyard,' I never would have believed them."
I do truly marvel at the places God has allowed me to see, the experiences He's allowed me to have, and people He's given me the privilege of knowing and loving.
But I'm not going to talk about any of that [Sorry to disappoint].
Instead, I'm going to tell you about losing my suitcase [Your attempt to stifle that yawn is greatly appreciated].
So, directly after the aforementioned dream-trip to England, I hugged my family goodbye and got off the bus at my terminal at London Heathrow on the way to a conference in Portugal. Everything was going smoothly, until I almost tried to board the wrong flight for Porto during my very short layover in Brussels. It was a close call, but I did make it to the right gate. However, apparently my bag did not.
After landing and waiting while all the bags circulated around the conveyer belt and realizing mine was not going to be one of them, I went to the area marked "Lost and Found." However, I had a dilemma: My flight had landed late and the line to file a report about the suitcase was long, and I was supposed to leave on a bus with a group to go to the conference. Not having any way of contacting anyone [I don't have an international phone plan] and not wanting them to leave without me, I left the baggage claim area to find the people with whom I was supposed to take the bus to the hotel an hour away.
To make a long story short, I finally found my group, and about an hour and a half later I was on the bus [still suitcaseless...having been told there was no record of where my suitcase might be]. So I plopped down in the first available seat, only to realize God had orchestrated that as well. The woman I sat next to was an incredible listener, who graciously listened to me vent my frustration and worry that I would never find my bag [which, most critically, had my camera with all my un-uploaded pictures from the trip on it as well as six months' worth of contact lenses that Mom had brought me and other things that were of personal importance to me]. She also prayed with me about some things I hadn't dealt with emotionally, apparently, that had bubbled up under the stress of losing something valuable. On top of all that, it turns out that she went to the same graduate school I've been considering and studied the same thing! So that was further confirmation [of which God has been gracious enough to provide me with in abundance lately] that that should be the next step.
I'm sure this seems petty to most of you, because I know that losing a suitcase is pretty common and they usually find it and deliver it to wherever you're staying within 24 hours. But it [thankfully] had never happened to be before. Now, granted, I was in just about the best possible place for it to happen...surrounded by people I know and who care about me and not having much to really "do" besides sit in sessions and listen.
So that is one lesson that I learned from this "loss"...you just don't really need that much. Now, I have gotten pretty good at packing light [shocking, I know, for those who know me from home...the girl whose suitcase always just barely met the maximum weight requirement]. I mean, I've been to Germany and Israel with nothing but a backpack. But for the first time since leaving home, I packed my medium-sized suitcase because I figured it was appropriate if I was going to be away for two weeks. However, I ended up wearing the same things all the time in England because it was almost always cold and rainy and I only packed a few things appropriate for such weather [silly me]. And then, as you know, I was never able to used any of it while in Portugal.
So as over-prepared and well-packed as you try to be, your suitcase could get lost and it could all be for nothing. So just pack the essentials in a carryon and roll with it.
Also, I learned it really is okay to ask for help. When people found out I literally only had the outfit I was wearing and my purse, people lent me everything from clothes to contact solution to a cell phone charger. And you know what? I didn't have makeup or the books I had brought or workout clothes or a swimsuit or another pair of shoes. But I had more than enough.
The way I packed is pretty indicative of my life in general...I have a lot of superfluous stuff. Stuff that sits and gathers dust. Stuff that could better benefit someone else. My stack of "wants" that could be exchanged for someone's sincere "need." What about you?
But however much it was constructive to become more conscious of my own tendency towards materialism, let's face it: the suitcase's contents [particularly the camera] were still valuable to me. It's not as though this all taught me to throw up my hands in such a situation and say, "Oh well, there's that. I didn't really need that stuff anyway." No, of course I called the airport daily to inquire if my luggage had been found [no record of it was tracked until day two of the trip, when it was found in Belgium]. And how my heart leapt when it was no longer floating around in the void! Someone finally knew its whereabouts! And how I wanted to hug it when it was finally delivered to the hotel at midnight before the last full day in Porto!
And it made me think...my Father cares about things that are lost. He doesn't throw up His hands and say, "Oh well, good riddance." In fact, Jesus gave us three parables in a row in Luke 15 to illustrate how He feels about the lost. The shortest of which is this:
"Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." [Luke 15:8-10]
This story is preceded by one about how a shepherd left the 99 safe sheep to find the one that was lost. The parable after is that of the Prodigal Son, about whom, when he returned home, his father said, "Let's have a feast and celebrate! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."
I'm so glad I serve a God who doesn't abandon that which is seemingly forgotten and tossed in the Lost and Found bin.
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." [Luke 19:10]
The good news, in case you were wondering, is that everything, including my camera, was in my suitcase when it was returned to me. Nothing had been lost forever. And how I did rejoice over what was lost and had been found!
I'll leave you with this, because it's a hymn we all are probably somewhat familiar with...but take some time to really meditate on these lyrics:
- Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see. - ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed. - Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home. - The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures. - Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace. - The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine. - When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
Love from Rome,
Elizabeth
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