Today's guest post is by my dear friend Connie Heckathorn...
When Jim went into hospital in July, he removed his wedding ring and I wore it on my thumb--just till he came home again. But when he passed away, the ring--engraved inside "Semper Tuus"--was the only tangible memory I had decided to keep. I was very aware of my husband's keeping of that promise to me of faithfulness to be "Forever Yours".
Yesterday I was very busy in the gardens: watering, weeding and pruning. Late afternoon Pastor Daryl dropped in, so I stopped for a cuppa. He helped me feed the horses before he left. Inside, washing my hands, I was suddenly aware that Jim's ring was not on my thumb. Had it come off as I distributed the horses hay? In the waning light of evening, I ran out and carefully scanned the ground where the horses had been eating. Crying, a prayer rose from my heart, "O Lord, help me find the ring!"
Too late to do any more searching, it would have to wait till morning. I was aware there was little chance of ever finding it, and I must accept that it was only a symbol and I should not attach too much feeling to it. But my heart ached at the loss.
Before 6am the next morning I was having my 'quiet time' in the sunroom, enjoying a new day dawning. I opened my Bible to Luke 15 and was reading the parable of the lost coin. "Lord Jesus, please help me find my lost ring", I prayed again. I felt a strong urge to go search in the front garden where I had been pruning. I had not cleaned it up so there was a mess of branches, twigs and leaves littering the ground. With the sun coming up and still in my pyjamas, I got down on my knees and methodically began to scratch around in the prunings beneath a well pruned bush. I searched around every rock, pushing mulch carefully aside for about 20 minutes, reminding myself that "the shepherd had found his lost sheep" and "the woman had searched carefully and finally found the lost coin".
As I pushed some leaves aside I saw something shine in the early morning light--Jim's engraved ring--the wedding ring! Tears blinded my eyes, "Thank You, Jesus, for guiding me in finding the lost ring". Joy overwhelmed me as I cried and thanked a loving God who cares about EVERY thing in my life.
Thanks Connie for sharing that special answer to prayer!
Love You!
