Late afternoon on Monday Jeannette & I took off to Indy for a couple meetings I had. For the 3 hour trip I was wearing my usual uniform of shorts, t-shirt, and sandals, but had my "work clothes" of slacks, polo, and...sandals ready to change into upon arriving at our hotel before the first meeting.
We hit some horrible construction traffic part way down and realized we were going to be cutting it short getting to my 7pm meeting. Rather than banking on being able to stop at the hotel first, we pulled into a rest area so I could change in style.
In a hurry, I grabbed my clothes, did the run disguised as a walk thing to my changing room, set a world record for how fast one can change clothes while in a bathroom stall, with the skill of a Jedi managed to not let my slacks touch the nasty floor while putting them on, and then sprinted back to the car. Pulling out of our parking space I patted my pocket for my iPhone and realized it wasn't there!
I then screamed and slammed on the brakes.
Sprinted back to the men's room, no longer disguising it as a walk, looking every person I passed on the way in the face to see if anyone had shifty or diverting eyes, and then slam into the stall. Thank you God it was unoccupied.
No iPhone.
Even looked behind the toilet. Disgusting: yes. Phone: no.
Ran back to the car. Pulled open the trunk and dumped out our entire suitcase into the back. Maybe I dropped it in there when I was getting my white t-shirt out.
No iPhone.
Ran back to the men's room to check the stall again. Maybe I missed it the first time. There was a guy closing the stall door as I entered (coming in 30 seconds later would have been bad). "SIR! Do you see a phone in there?" "No, I don't see one." Just to make sure I wedged past him so I could double checked. He was right. Slightly annoyed, but right.
No iPhone.
Ran back to the car. Maybe it's under the seats and I missed it the first time.
No iPhone.
Maybe I dropped it in the grass. Rewalked my steps from the car to the restroom, panning the ground like a security camera.
No iPhone.
Hey, I'm here at the restroom building again. Might as well check the stall once more. I might have missed it the last two times I checked the 3'x3' space with no crevices or hiding places.
No iPhone.
Maybe someone found it and decided to pull a prank by throwing it away. I used to work with junior highers, I know it's possible. So I checked all of the garbage cans.
No iPhone.
Walking back to the car I scour the grass again, trying to move a little slower this time. Maybe I missed it the first time. So now I'm like a lion on the hunt, slowly moving through the havana.
No iPhone.
Defeated. Can't find it. In my mind I've already accused every person I passed on my way back to the bathroom that first time, especially the one guy who did have shifty eyes. Jeannette has been looking this whole time as well, dialing my number from her phone but not hearing anything. I was also dialing from my work cell while all of this was going on, because maybe she wasn't hearing it.
No iPhone.
Defeated, and now thinking, "But I didn't want to put the money out for the iPhone 4. All of my contacts and info are gone! I can't believe I can't find it."
No iPhone.
Started pulling out of our parking spot. It probably looked like a slow, depressing back up to an outsider. Jeannette is sympathetically rubbing my shoulder and saying, "it will be OK."
Can't believe this. Who could have possibly gotten in there within the 30 seconds I was away and gotten it. Stupid guy with the shifty eyes.
Can't believe this. Who could have possibly gotten in there within the 30 seconds I was away and gotten it. Stupid guy with the shifty eyes.
Slam on the breaks, put it in park, and as I'm getting out say to Jeannette, "I just have to look one more time." I'm walking even slower, picturing myself again carrying my clothes to the bathroom, and I angle my path so that I just cut the corner of grass going from one sidewalk to another.
MY IPHONE!!!!
It's laying facedown in the grass with the blue Logos sticker on the back looking up at me. Grabbing it, I turn to Jeannette and lift it up higher than a Chicago Blackhawk raising up the Stanley Cup!
It doesn't matter now that I'm going to be an additional 10 minutes late to the meeting. I found my iPhone!
It doesn't matter how the meetings go. I found my iPhone!
It doesn't matter how big of an idiot I looked like running back and forth at the rest area, flipping over garbage cans and everything. I found my iPhone!
I found my iPhone!
And as I pull back onto I-65 south, smiling in triumphant exaltation, of course it's then that Jesus decides to whisper to me:
"Do you search for me like that?"
And all of my pondering and worries about my future and stress about my life come crashing into the answer to that question.
"Do you search for me like that?"
"Do you think I'm that valuable?"
"Do you celebrate finding me or others finding me like you just did back there?"
I'm crushed and broken by the answer to those questions. Grace rebuilds me and gives hope.
What are you searching for?
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44
2 comments:
"Do you search for me like that?" - Ouch! Hallelujah!
Ouch. Great post Bobby.
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