Parable of the lost plane

After church on Sundays, we all congregate in an outdoor area with some covered areas, benches, trees, tables, etc. It is mostly enclosed, so many of us Mommies let the kids run & play as long as they are in our sight and stay within certain boundaries. The older kids have organized games, and the younger ones mostly just run back and forth. We grown-ups get to fellowship, catch up, and drink coffee in a nice, sunny atmosphere. It's lovely.

Today I happened to have a 3" long cast-iron airplane and a bunch of McDonald's Hummers in my bag, so the Boy grabbed them all and distributed them amongst his friends. Much flying and humming ensued. When it was time to go, all the hummers returned. The plane was MIA.

This particular plane is part of a set of 12, and he's also got 5 or six more that are very similar. So it's not as if he were left plane-less. But from the way he carried on you would think this was the only toy he possessed. We hunted for it, of course, but given the area he had covered and the number of kids that were playing with it the odds of finding it were not in our favor. If he'd lost his red plane it would have been better, but this one was a nice, blending-in-type of army green. As we searched, he enlisted the help of everyone he could, with a plaintive, "My airplane is LOST. Can you look for it, please?".

As I peeked under tables and peered into tall grasses I was reminded of the story of the lost sheep. I couldn't help thinking about how lovely it was that God will always love us and come looking for us, even though He has so many others who remain faithful and don't wander off.

I think my pondering kept me hunting a little longer than I normally would have, and it fortunately paid off. There was the little green plane, shining in the sun. I picked it up and "flew" it over to my now visibly distraught boy. He was so happy! He clutched it closely and vowed, "I will never lose it again."

So all is well again in our little world, and I got a reminder of what it means to be lost. Almost as good as the sermon!