The Case of the Missing Lens

Last week, when we were in North Carolina, Caitlin asked for her glasses. She hadn't worn them since we got to the Outer Banks, but said the words in the book she was reading were a little blurry. I dug them out of my carry on bag, and the left side lens was missing! It wasn't in her case, and, after dumping the contents of my bag on the bed, not in my carry on, either. The little screw that held the 2 halves of the left "eye" on the glasses had fallen out. Considering how much these glasses cost us, I felt a little ill. I really, really wish that we'd chosen something else. These glasses have bent in all ways, and we've even had to go in to get them readjusted. All this since early December! After searching my carry on, the whole bed, and the floor for something clear (!), I came to the conclusion that the lens wasn't there. I would look every now and then, hoping I hadn't just missed it. What kept going around in circles in my mind was that if the lens was in our OBX vacation house, it would be a lost cause when we left. It *had* to be at home. Caitlin hadn't worn her glasses since the last day of school, and that had been a week before!

We got back home late on Sunday night. There was no searching then, only bed. The next day was spent with me in a semi-sick, slightly exhausted, unpacking state, with a little searching here and there. Still nothing. Embarrassed by the sight of the coffee table in the front room (in reality, embarrassed by the fact that everyone had piled just about everything on it and I couldn't actually see it), I went into full-blown house cleaning mode on Tuesday. I put away the suitcases, went through the mail, and cleaned off the coffee table. I searched under the couch, under the tables, in Caitlin's room - still nothing. At this point I was mentally trying to calculate the cost of getting one lens, but my mind was still in a post-vacation hangover, and no amount of math was going to be processed. Two days later, finding the lens had proved to be futile.

Tuesday night Caitlin's friend M came over for a sleep-over. Her mom, who works the night shift as a labor and delivery nurse, picked her up up early Wednesday morning on the way home from work. Since Caitlin's friend lives just up the next street, she and Caitlin decided to walk to her home together. M's street is kind of busy, so I walked up to the top of our street, where our streets connect, to watch them while M's mom drove up the hill. Caitlin walked back down the street to me, and we walked down our street together. We walked past our neighbor's house, and lo and behold, what on the sidewalk before my eyes should appear? A small, clear, plastic lens (and 8 tiny reindeer! Wait - wrong season!). It was a little scratched up, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. I scooped it, took it inside, and found out that yes, indeed, it was our missing lens. How could it be there on the sidewalk, almost two weeks later? How was it not completely battered or smashed? How did I not step on it just minutes before when I walked up our street? How was this possible? Our neighbors have 2 active boys, and all the kids in the neighborhood frequently congregate in front of our house or their house. One would think the little lens would be crushed by now.

Lately, God has been impressing a few things on me. No words, no directions, but just a few things that he'd like me to do. I've been a little lazy, and have not been drawing close. But I've felt his presence, and I have tried to do what I feel he's asking of me. Even in doing so, I'm confused. Why is he impressing this on me? I wish I could get some better answers. He knows how much I hate not knowing what's going on, or where I'm going. I hate vagueness. Somehow when I found this lens - in a place I never would looked, and in good shape - I felt like it was just a reminder from God that he was still here! I know, I know  - it's just a lens. And I can choose to see it just as a lens that was lost, then (amazingly) found. But I'm not. I'm clinging to this little reminder that God's still here. And that he cares.

Oh, and the next day, Caitlin misplaced her glasses. Three days later, and I still can't find them. *Sigh*