A while back I noticed something that I had liked to wear was nowhere to be found. When I tried to recall the last time I wore it, I couldn’t remember. When did it disappear? How could something I wear on the regular just vaporize? What a mystery!

Off and on I have thought about this item, but not ever long enough to stop what I was doing and go on the hunt for it to track it down. It just popped in my mind and seemed to leave almost as quickly. But then I really started to get curious about it. Where could it be? So I asked my youngest daughter. She remembered it — it was just a sweater — but she hadn’t seen it.

At this point, my desire to pinpoint the location of this item stepped more into the limelight. I went through the hanging clothes in my closet, one by one. I looked on the floor of the closet to see if it fell off the hanger. And I checked my coat-turned-sweater rack. Nope.

But, the other day, I was packing for an event and went hunting for some tablecloths. Thankfully, I had remembered seeing them while doing something else so I knew exactly where they were. But while I was gathering that stuff, I noticed something else that I could use for the event and then, low and behold, there was that missing sweater. Woohoo! I retraced how it got to that spot and it made perfect sense. Another person was involved and it boiled down to I was going to deal with that box later and later was much later than I intended.

This is just a little example of how my brain works and it really isn’t the main focus of the story. The human brain is buzzing with so many things and keeping something and someone “top of mind” is often a challenge.

But God….

He doesn’t get distracted or waylaid in His search for His sheep. He is not forgetful. He is not late. He is always available, eager to communicate. There is no need to make an appointment or “get ready” to meet with Him. As much as a human loves and cares for you, God operates at another level. The process of me seeking this crazy sweater just happened to remind me that God is and has always been there.

Thank you, Father, for meeting me, wherever I am!