Lost: 1: not claimed 2: no longer known 3: ruined or destroyed physically or morally (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
Many children are lost. Their parents don’t notice where they go. Their relatives don’t take time to learn their favorite colors. They have sinned, and like the rest of the human race, they cannot stop. Finding requires effort: to claim, to know thoroughly, to redeem. Finding requires blood, sweat, and tears. Our Good Shepherd thought it was worth it. As the kids filed out of the classroom after the Bible lesson, 13-year-old Kaitlin (named changed) sidled up to me. “Hi!” I smiled at her. She remained serious. “I hear voices in my head telling me not to talk to you. But I know I’m lost like that sheep in the story the Good Shepherd told,” she whispered, plucking nervously at the hem of her shorts. I smiled again. “The enemy doesn’t want people to be found, but Jesus gave His blood—He died and came alive again—to help lost people get found.” We talked some more; she prayed; she walked out of the classroom with a big grin. A year later, I finished a Bible lesson at the same club and watched the children file out: all but one. Kaitlin waited until the others had left, but she didn’t sidle up to me—she walked boldly. “Hi! I prayed with you last year to be found.” Kaitlin’s face lit up with a smile. “I don’t hear those voices anymore. I’ve been reading the Bible and praying.” Lost and found. Blood, sweat, and tears. Totally worth it.