Lost and Found | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Lost and Found | Previous Challenge Entry
By Becky Real
03/12/15
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It had been another one of those days. I’d already been at the office for twelve hours and still had work to complete before the next morning. Everyone else had gone home. I was exhausted, frazzled, and discouraged. So much to do…. So little time…. I felt like my dog’s tug toy – caught with one end gripped by teeth and the other end tightly grasped in two hands. Pulled, twisted, tugged and yanked in completely different directions and neither player willing to let go.

Frantically, I reached for my bracelet. A gift from a special friend, a single rectangular dangle inscribed with the word HOPE nestled between its smooth, round stones. I wore it every day. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, torn, or sad and needed to think clearly, I would reach for the charm and rest it between my thumb and forefinger. Then I would slowly rub my thumb over the word and remind myself of God’s promise of hope. As I caressed the charm, my breathing would regulate and the fear and anxiety that raced through my mind would slow down. It was my lighthouse in the midst of the storms of life.

But wait…. What the heck?? The bracelet was firmly clasped on my wrist. But the charm was gone!

I dropped to my knees in my office and swept my hands under the desk, around the corners and edges of every piece of furniture, searching the entire floor. In a panic, I dug through everything on top of my desk and in my drawers. As my fears heightened, I re-traced my steps of the day, eyes and hands wildly scanning floors, drawers, and tables. I even checked the trash cans.

It was all to no avail. My precious charm was nowhere to be found. Unable to think or calm down, I couldn’t return to my projects. My heart was pounding and tears streamed down my cheeks. Work would have to wait. I had to find my charm.

After searching the parking lot and my car, I drove home to tear apart my garage and house. I searched for hours but couldn’t find it.

I had lost my hope.

The next morning, I shared my loss and desperation with my co-worker, Pam, who makes jewelry. Thinking she had a charm in her collection that said “hope”, she offered to take my bracelet home that night and put on a replica. I gratefully handed over the bracelet in anticipation that all would be fine once my “hope” was restored.

Unfortunately, when the bracelet came back the next day, the oval charm resting in place wasn’t a replica. It had a different word -- “Believe”. Pam couldn’t find a “hope” charm anywhere. Rather than bring it back to me charm-less, she offered me a new one – and a new word.

Although I was grateful for her thoughtfulness, it was still a disappointment. Reaching for the dangling charm and reading the word “hope” had become my physical reminder of God’s promise for me. No matter what happened, I could see, read, and touch it. The charm made hope real. Now what would I do? I could stop wearing the bracelet completely. Or choose to keep wearing it – despite its altered meaning.

I decided to continue to wear the bracelet every day, now reaching to touch “Believe”. The new word gave me even greater confidence and new-found strength. In fact, over a year later, the bracelet and its charm became an as-needed accessory instead of a daily necessity.

Yes -- home and work remained challenging. No -- life didn’t always go the way I wanted. But when I needed strength, comfort, peace or calm, I no longer reached for the charm on my bracelet. Instead, I opened my hands and heart in prayer and looked toward heaven.

You see, I finally realized that my hope was never lost.

Hope didn’t come from a charm on a bracelet or from the word itself. It was in the very place where God had planted His promise – tucked in my heart.

I found it, when I was reminded to “Believe”.

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