A few months ago our 6 year old, Selah, got lost at the mall. It was the most terrified I’ve ever been and within seconds our panic was at an all time high. Other moms heard us screaming her name and an army of women dispersed throughout the building searching for my child. Security guards were asking me, “what was she wearing” and fear was washing over me.
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I’ll never forget the image of my husband bursting through the glass doors with her in his arms and the sound of relief that came from all the women when we found her. She had been outside the whole time. She had gotten separated from Tony and walked through the wrong doors and couldn’t find her way back to us.
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The whole time we were looking for her I kept hearing the Lord say, “I can see her. It’s okay.” She had simply walked through the wrong door. .
I think Selah and I are a lot alike. How many times have I thought I knew exactly where I was going only to find myself surrounded by strangers and chaos? Lost. Confused. Scared. Doubting. Questioning. Jumping up and down just trying to catch a glimpse of anything or anyone familiar. Abandoned. Was anyone looking for me?
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But we’re not lost girls and boys who end up in Neverland separated from our Father. Even when we feel the furthest from His hand, His eyes never leave our path. His grace is always with us. And the Lord, His gaze always on me, dispatches his angel army with the passion of ten thousand moms looking for one of their own and they don’t stop until we’re back in His arms.
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When I think about losing Selah I become physically ill. If I feel that as a human parent I can’t imagine how much more God feels about us. He will leave the 99 to find the 1. .
And it’s okay if sometimes we’re the 1. We all wander off from time to time. .
Sometimes all the doors look the same. .
He doesn’t shame us or scold us. He celebrates our return because what was lost has been found. What could have been dead has been found alive!
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Even when I’ve been most lost He still calls me daughter. .
He still calls you son. .
His eyes have never left us. .
He knows exactly where to find His own. .
#raisedtostay