INSPIRASUNS

We got a call yesterday from one of our parishioners. John had lost his phone and glasses and was fairly certain that he had left them in the pew where he had been sitting on Sunday morning. I asked my facilities manager to go on the hunt for the missing items. He searched everywhere in the church, the men’s restroom, and he even searched the grass near where John had parked. No luck. We told John that we would keep looking, but it didn’t appear that he’d left the items here at church.

About an hour or so later, I heard the side door near my office open. One of my coworkers sits down the hall from that door, and I heard her say, “Oh, hi John, what brings you down here?”. He replied, “I’ve lost my phone and my glasses”. My coworker wasn’t privy to the phone conversation that had occurred earlier. She took him over to the lost and found basket to no avail. My husband got in on the conversation at that point and offered to make another run through the church, and headed out the door.

I talked with John a bit, trying to retrace his steps from Sunday morning. He was visibly upset and couldn’t remember where he may have put the items. I reminded him that he was carrying his jacket when I had talked with him on Sunday. I asked if perhaps they could be in one of his jacket pockets. “Maybe you put them in there and just hung up your jacket when you got home”. He agreed that might be a possibility.

John wandered into one of the priest’s offices and began to tell his story to her. I followed him into the office as he was racking his brain trying to recall where he may have put these treasures. At that point, I asked him if he had by chance called his cell phone. He wasn’t quite sure what I meant. “If you call it, you might hear it ring or buzz”. “That’s a good idea,” he exclaimed.

Marcella jumped up and suggested that they do just that. She confirmed his phone number and then walked John to his car. The thought was that perhaps his phone had fallen into a side pocket or under a seat. Off they went on the continued quest for the lost items.

It wasn’t too long before she returned, proclaiming, “We found them!” Calling the phone had worked. Sure enough, it had fallen out of John’s pocket, along with his glasses, between the seat and console of his car. He was so happy, emotionally happy.

As I was remembering this encounter from yesterday, I realized that it wasn’t just about finding a few lost items. This was a situation where a person came to a place where they knew they would get help. John knew that we had already checked every knook and cranny of where he had been, and nothing was found. That didn’t matter; he came to us anyway because he knew there would be support, he would get help and comfort. He found just that, along with those missing items 🙂 .

Friends, I’m a broken record sometimes, but I can’t stress enough that you never know the difference you can make in someone’s life. You may think you are doing something minor, but yet it means the world to someone else. Be there for people, lend a hand, share a smile, listen to a story. When you do, you share Father’s love.

Have a good day, friends 🙂 .

2 Thessalonians 3:13
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.