"No, No, My Wock (Rock)"

Tonight we had back to back soccer games! During the break Jacob and I decided it was a good time to walk to the potty. On the way back from the potty, Jacob stops in his tracks and began to sob. Being the loving, caring mother that I am...I kept walking and said.."Come on. Run. You're ok. Stop crying. We are going to watch Caleb's soccer game." I walked on thinking I would call his bluff, he would see that he was alone and he would run to catch up. He continued to cry and stand in place. I decided I had better go and see what was wrong. The closer I walked the more I could see how deeply hurt he was. When I got to him he said, "Mommy, me drop rock. Me find it!" So, I helped him look and look until we found what he thought was the lost rock. He picked it up and said, "My rock! Now me can run!" He had lost his cherished rock and he wasn't taking another step until he found that which was lost. His mind was made up, he was standing firm and once he found his lost rock, he could run again. Remind you of a story from the Bible?  Luke 15:4-6 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep."

Jesus, our shepherd cares about His children so much that He will wait and seek after the one that is lost. Isn't that a comfort to know that He loves us that much? Yes, this is comforting, but it is also an example to us told as a parable so that we might learn a lesson. When was the last time you stopped and put everything on hold to find one of those lost sheep? When was the last time you even allowed yourself to be inconvenienced for the sake of speaking a kind word to the clerk at the grocery store or helping an elderly person unload their groceries into their car. We are so "busy" and wrapped up in ourselves that we rarely stop and take the time to help others, much less intentionally going out and looking for a "lost" sheep to take home and rejoice over. There was a time that I prayed and asked the Lord to bring people in my path that I could minister to. I prayed that the Lord would make me sensitive to the needs I saw in others and He was always faithful to bring those people. I never saw it as a inconvenience, but I also did not have to "sacrifice" much except for my time. Pray with me that the Lord would begin to bring people into our paths that we can serve and minister to. We can also take it a step further and pray that He would bring people into our "lives" that we can minister to. (This takes a greater commitment.) It has been a while since I have had the privilege of introducing a lost sheep to their shepherd. It's Time!! "Thank you Jacob for reminding Mommy to "seek that which is lost."