Day 5: The parable of the lost stuffy

 It was time for "stuffy movie hour." 

Everyone was there.  

Cat. Bulbasaur. Rainbow. Mouse.  Snake.  

Lined up in a perfect row at the foot of my bed. I fumbled with the remote to pull up Disney+. Today's feature film,  "James and the Giant Peach" again.  

"Wait!!!!!!!"

...

Ladybug is not here!! We cannot start the movie!

And thus began a quest to find ladybug.  The usual places were checked.  Then the unusual places. Then the very unusual places.  Panic was setting in.  Life could NOT go on without ladybug.  

I tried the usual tactics.  Redirection.  Nope. We'll find her tomorrow.  Maybe she wanted a nap.  

Nooooooooooooo..... sheeeeeees looooooost. We must find her.  

Sigh. 

The hunt continues. Silent tears streaming down miles precious face. 

I cannot begin to tell you how precious this kid has been about his stuffies lately.  He puts them each in jammies each night and has a row of toothbrushes on his windowsill to brush their teeth before bed.  He plays cards and board games with them. He takes them to the park and pushes them on swings and lines them up to go down the slide. 

Today, they enjoyed a great park playdate until Zander ran them over with his bike.  Summarily, they were loaded into the laundry basket and ushered home for emergency treatment.  Broken bones were cast. Stitches were administered.  And movie theater was suggested as a way to help them feel better.  Except.. ladybug was missing.  Hurt and missing. 

After an hour of looking and some clever thinking,  mom figured out where to look and sure enough,  she was there. 

Joy. 

Sheer joy.  

Ladybug is ok.  Ladybug is reunited with her friends and sisters. Movie theater may go on. 

When I think about Jesus's parables of the lost,  I always think about the joy of the lost toy.  The lost stuffy. 

I think because children love whatever it is that they've lost with a ferocity that is parable worthy. But also because children lose things so often. This cycle of despair and elation is so familiar,  in my bones,  after 15 years of finding lost toys. 

How often do we get lost? How often do we wander after from God? I venture to say that as many times as I've looked for and found Ladybug.  God has looked for and found me. And it doesn't matter how many times I've looked for a given toy. The elation at finding it again for the 300th time is perhaps even greater than the 1st time it was lost. 

But what makes this even more powerful of a parable for me are the toys that we are most joyful to find. It is not the brand new tag on collector items beanie baby waiting for just the right ebay auction.  No, it's a dirty crab that's missing a leg and an eye.  A matchbox car that's so beat up, you can't tell what the original paint color was.  Toys that are weird and no longer sellable. Toys that without the love of the child would be thrown away.  

I rejoice in a God that loves us like a child loves a favorite toy and who hunts us down and finds us again and again like a mother who wants to get everyone to bed on time. And who rejoices from the rooftop when we are found because life isn't whole without us.  

Amen