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Monday 23 February 2009

And there was much rejoicing!

Charm bracelet 4

For months now, I've been nagging my parents to hunt throughout the entire house for a very precious bracelet that I'd left behind. With every passing week I lost hope, becoming more and more convinced that it was lost to the void. You know how when you lose something that was pretty much brand new, and it just stays new and unattainable in your mind forever? My beautiful bracelet was like that. I even had dreams where I found it and it wasn't quite the same as in the real world... a sure sign that I was forgetting it while obsessing over it at the same time.

My dad asked me where he thought I'd seen it last, and time and time again I told him that I had no idea, and that the only place I could remember leaving it was on the leg of an upturned piece of furniture in my old bedroom. (It's kind of turned into the junk room since then so there's no shortage of chairlegs hanging around, waiting to have hairbands and stuff left on them.)

It wasn't because it was expensive jewellery that I wanted to find it, it was because it was a special gift from my boyfriend's parents. They chose the charms specially with me in mind - a silver flip-flop and conch shell - because I was raised on an island, you see? And they gave me a third charm to me this Christmas - a beautiful silver bear. Bears have huge personal significance for me.

The bracelet was intended, partly, to be worn on a cruise this summer. My boyfriend's grandmother is taking the entire family, and apparently, I qualify! I didn't want to wear it until then (ironically because I had a suspicion I would lose it / drop it / have it stolen), but I was talked into it by his mother, who told me 'not to save it for best.'

Anyway, my dad hadn't found it, my mum hadn't found it, none of my siblings had seen it, and I was forced to conclude that it could have slipped off my wrist any time, any place. I prayed. This is a revelation I've been unsure how to introduce to you all, but I'm a Christian. Sort of. Was. Am. Well, I'm confused, essentially, so I was pleading with God saying "If you're really there, you know how important this is to me - please, please help me find it..." then I'd tail off and wonder if I was talking to myself.

Every day since I've been back, I've been having mini-hunts in every corner of this junk-packed house, in the futile hope that it'd turn up. Tonight I searched in my old bedroom again. I'd already looked, of course, but I had to do something.
"Dad's already tidied here loads of times... to be honest, if it was here, he'd have found it." That was my sister, Judith, getting ready for bed.
"I know," I said, "but it just feels better than doing nothing, you know?"

After a lot of organising, and sorting, and putting things into bags and throwing them away and finding books from years ago, I saw it. There, on the leg of an upturned stool, hidden away under an old computer desk, was my bracelet - paler than I remembered it, but just as beautiful.

The next few seconds sounded like this:

"I found it.

I FOUND IT."

Judith: "What?"

"I FOUND IT!

I FOUND IT!!

MUUUUM!!! I FOUND IT!"

I ran downstairs, my sister shouting congratulations after me, and my mum reaching out to hug me, almost as delighted as I was, because she knew how important this was to me, and how bad I'd felt for letting down my boyfriend and his parents. I called him with the good news straight away, of course! And then... we prayed. And I said thank you to the God that I can't quite not believe in however much I hurt sometimes.

Sitting on the sofa afterwards, I thought of a story Jesus told about a woman in a very similar position.

Luke 15 v. 8-10
The Parable of the Lost Coin
"Or what woman who has 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents."
So, it being a little late to call all my friends and neighbours together, I thought I'd share it with you. Because some things are just important.

54 comments:

  1. In other news: word verification temporarily deactivated; too many people are having problems with it. I've contacted blogger, so I guess we'll see.

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  2. what is lost shall become found.....i'm sure somebody at sometime uttered those words. congrats on your finding of the bracelet. it brings you much happiness, i can tell. now never take it off again....heehee. bye 4 now, jc

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  3. congrats!!

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  4. ANNA, THE BRACELET FOUND YOU!!!!!!!!
    http://beth-pearldiving.blogspot.com

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  5. i'm glad you found your bracelet, it obviously meant a lot to you - just don't forget that in the same way the bracelet never left your mind, we're always on God's mind - he's always seeking our heart. that's what the parable you mentioned was referring to. i believe God uses every day situations like yours to get our attention and draw us back to him!

    ilcw

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  6. I'm so happy you found it. Posts like this make me smile!!

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  7. Hooray! Good for you. I know little things mean a lot. I remember when I got back something from my childhood that I thought was lost forever. I cried and cried and it really wasn't anything.

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  8. I'm so glad you found it! . . . Obviously, you are not forgotten or abandoned :-)!!!! Oh, and it's okay to hurt . . .I read just recently that Psychologists have found that people who are moderately happy are more productive than people who are very happy . . .seems a little dissatisfaction drives us to do creative stuff :-) I must be the most creative person in the world . . . ha! Thanks for sharing! Cheers!

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  9. congrats on your finding your bracelet. I know how that is.

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  10. congrats on finding your bracelet. I know how it is to find things you have lost for a long time.

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  11. I'm glad you found your bracelet.

    I hope I will find my glasses the same way. I lost them in the house a year and a half ago and I'm still looking for them...

    Hopefully, they will turn up when we move out...

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  12. I am sooo happy that you found that bracelet! Such a pretty one, and I would imagine that it looks fantastic on your wrist! I had a similar story like yours with a ring that was in the shape of a queen's crown, that was given to me by someone really near & dear to my heart. I ended up finding that ring after 2 years of searching for it! After that, I never took it off my hand!

    Cheers!
    Liz!!

    www.elizabeth-murillo.blogspot.com

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  13. congrats on finding your bracelet. I know that feeling when you think you are never going to see something again.

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  14. I just stumbled across your blog and have found it very entertaining. Thank you for sharing.

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  15. I'm new the the bloggosphere....and your blog is very inspirational. don't know why, just is. I love stories like this!

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  16. That's lovely. (And thanks for getting rid of the captcha thing - I couldn't comment at all last night.)

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  17. This is great! Congratulations! <:)

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  18. Yay for finding it :D never take it off again! hehe... and its also impressive that it was where you left it after all the hunting and junk added to the room.

    oh and was the "Was. Am. Well, I'm confused" part hinting at what i think it might be ? if it is i hope you get that sorted either way too... it can't be easy :D

    - John/FallenAngel/The one you met a few times what seems many moons ago.

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  19. Oh wow, really pleased you found it!

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  20. that is such a gorgeous braclet- do you know where they got it from?

    am pleased that you found it hun and am pleased that at the same time you made a connection with God. we can have one of our old email chats if you want to chat it through more :)

    loves xxx

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. Thank you so much for sharing about that. I know God has done wonders in my life and I really hope you can continue to trust in Him. If you want something to do for 10 minutes, check out my blog and leave a comment. No obligation though aye.

    God bless,
    Tim.

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  23. Sarah, it's Thomas Sabo, this is the website: http://www.thomassabo.com/en/charmclub/menu_cc.html

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  24. Hey there. I'm new to the site and decided to check out some blogs, and I came across yours. I wanted to say that I enjoyed reading this post; your style of writing kept me tentative. I also enjoyed how you wrapped it up with a passage from another source. Good concluding tactic.


    It's always nice to find something that's been lost, especially when it holds much significance. I'm glad you found what you were so desperately looking for. I'm sure this story will pop into my mind the next time I lose something, which tends to happen on a weekly basis, lol. Good job!

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  25. well i am glad you found it. I have when I cant find something. It drives me nuts.
    mo

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  26. Maybe you could come over to my house and look for my favorite sock? i lost 1 out of 2, and thats bad when it comes to socks see.

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  27. I rejoice with you over your lost-and-found bracelet! Let's get wasted!

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  28. This was a good story and i am glad that you found your bracelot....it is painfully obvious that it meant alot to you.

    Fred Smilek is the acting president of the Society to Save Endangered Species. It was founded two years ago by Fred Smilek along with his two best friends Charles and Jonathan. http://www.fredjsmilek.com

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  29. =D this was a great story to read ^___^
    Congratulations on finding your bracelet!

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  30. omg, i remember, a francisican monk, i knew came to my home, 1999 or so, hoping to show my mom the way and used that parable referring to a brother of mine who was never around, she was so touched by it, in the evening, i said "mom, i going to help find your lost gold coin "the unapproachable son" and thru wit and wisdom, got him to reunite with her by christmas, 99, she's lost quite a bit of gold coins since then, not to mention, well, i won't

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  31. That is a gorgeous bracelet. I wish I knew where to get one..lol

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  32. Hurray! That bracelet is quite beautiful, congrats on finding it! :)

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  33. Congratulations on finding your bracelet! I seem to lose things all the time to. Lol, am I the only one who thinks it's a bit odd that you found it on the leg of an upturned stool? haha I'm imagining that your house looks pretty chaotic.

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  34. Very pleased for you - I hate that feeling when you lose something. My Mum had a similar thing ages ago - she lost a sapphire ring that her father had given her and she was distraught. Months later she was in the garage and found it on the floor, totally flattened, she much have driven over it in the car and it had got caught in the wheel tread and stayed there until falling out one night after she'd parked the car.

    Some things are just meant to be found I guess!

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  35. What a beautiful bracelet! I'm so happy that you found it - little things like that, which mean so much, are what makes life so special sometimes.

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  36. Congrats on finding your bracelet! and what a beautiful bracelet it is! :)

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  37. Your bracelet is so pretty, and I'm happy for you that you found it.

    (I found your blog on the blogs of note page. I love reading it!)

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  38. "And I said thank you to the God that I can't quite not believe in however much I hurt sometimes."

    I know exactly how you feel.

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  39. ~insert pearl necklace joke here~

    Sorry, I'm feeling lazy today.

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  40. i'm well happy ya found it! :-) love that feelin... like finding a fiver in your pocket that you didn't know was there... PRICELESS!!!!

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  41. There is something really special about finding something that you lost. Especially something so important to you. God helps us when we ask, and he sure helped you!

    Oh, and by the way... I don't know how many people have said this, but the design on you're blog is really nice. I really like it.

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  42. Hey, Anna!
    I just have to share this with you! Last night, after my husband and I said "goodbye" to some friends who had spent the evening with us, I noticed I was missing one of my favorite earrings! My first thought was, "I must have really looked odd wearing only one!" After I finished cleaning up after our guests, I scoured the house looking for my earring. My mom had said she particularly liked these earrings just before she died of cancer last summer, and so I admit, I'm pretty sentimental about them. I couldn't find it anywhere, but I remembered your blog . . .and so I prayed! This morning I walked into the kitchen, and suddenly felt I should check the garbage disposal . . . Voila! There it was! Think I may have to blog about it :-) Thanks for your inspiration!

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  43. Sniffles and Smiles, I'm SO glad you found your earring! Funny how such small things can mean so much isn't it. x x

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  44. Hurrah!
    Ally said "Lol, am I the only one who thinks it's a bit odd that you found it on the leg of an upturned stool?"
    I didn't think it odd at all. I know your family! ;)

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  45. I lost a precious earring, but don't expect to see it again - I've a nasty suspicion it ended up on a street in Cowes as it fell out of the purse I'd put it in for safekeeping. It was a present from Stee as well as very pretty, my "best" earrings. Poop.

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  46. Lots of times only when you lost something you realize how important was that thing for you.And the joy of finding it, is much greater than the joy of having it.It's like that shepherd who had a flock of lambs.One day a lamb lost his way and could not find the flock.The shepherd left in search of the lamb and when he found it, his joy was immense.
    Visit my blog

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  47. YAY! THAT'S SO GREAT!
    IMAGINE IF YOU'D LOST IT FOR GOOD!?!
    HOW COULD YOU TELL YOUR BOYFRIEND'S PARENTS?

    I'M KINDA IN THE SAME SITAUTION AS YOU WITH THE WHOLE CHRISTIAN THING. AND BEING A BLOGGER, I FEEL (MAYBE ONLY IN A PARANOID WAY) THAT ONCE BLOGGER'S FIND OUT YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN THEY WON'T WANT TO READ YOUR BLOG ANY MORE.

    SOME PEOPLE JUMP TO HORRIBLE CONCLUSIONS WHEN THEY HEAR THAT WORD 'CHRISTIAN'. IT'S NOT SINISTER THOUGH. Is it?

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  48. Surely if someone won't read your blog based on your religion you wouldn't want them to be anyway.

    I'm not religious at all, despite having been raised Christian, and so obviously from my point of view God had nothing to do with the finding of the bracelet, but I don't think that detracts at all from the finding of the bracelet, or indeed the blog on the subject. Whether it was God, fate, a quirk of life, or the bracelet goblins; the fact remains that finding the bracelet made Anna (and presumably Gav) very happy, and that's what matters.

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  49. AHHHH sorry. Hello Lydia. Everyone's got different ideas of what 'Christian' means... in some ways we're responsible for making it mean something good!

    Thanks Dan, it did indeed make me very happy. <3

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  50. congrats on finding your bracelet :D and I agree with what you said about Christianity, we are the ones responsible for making it mean something amazing!

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