The Bracelet
By Dawn S. Morning
It had been a very busy day with 2 people scheduled for an interview for a position that had been posted for a good while, lots of e-mails to answer, and the president on site with guests. I was exhausted by the end of the day but I was on my way home now.
I recalled that during lunch an employee noticed the bracelet I was wearing and said “Oh what a beautiful bracelet.” I smiled and said “yes, it’s one of my favorites.” I went on to explain that I had a lot of jewelry pieces with this particular type of stone because the stones look good and are not too expensive. I had never seen another bracelet like this one.
As I was driving home I glanced at my wrist and realized that my bracelet was gone! I cried out “Oh no!” My mind began to race back to how I could have lost it. I knew the clasp was loose but it had never fallen off my wrist.
In my mind I retraced my steps back to before leaving the office at the end of the day. I went to the rest room before leaving, could it be in the toilet stall? Did I drop it in the wastebasket as I dried my hands with a paper towel? Oh, I hope I dropped it in my office. Maybe it fell off as I walked down the stairs. Could I have dropped it as I opened the car door? I hoped I had not dropped it in the parking lot. I quickly looked on the floor of the car and checked both front seats. My mind was racing and my heart was pounding, I really loved that bracelet.
I knew I would have to go back and look for this special piece of jewelry that I enjoyed wearing so much.
It was already after 6:00pm, it was cold, almost dark and raining. The forecast predicted that the rain could turn into sleet. But I knew I had to at least try and find my bracelet. Tomorrow would be too late.
I searched for the nearest exit. The traffic was moving very slow because of the rain. The cars were almost bumper to bumper. It was four and one half miles to the next exit which put me about half of the way home but I turned around and went back. Oh Lord I prayed please let me find my bracelet.
As I drove the 30 minutes back to the office I thought oh Lord please let me find my bracelet but if you want to give my bracelet to someone else I guess that’s okay too. I don’t want to love anything more than I love God.
For the last several months I believe that the Holy Spirit has been ministering to my heart revealing that God loves me, that He wants good things for me and that what He gives to me in heaven and on earth is mine and nobody can take away what He gives to me.
By the time I arrived back to the parking lot at work it was completely dark and with the rain it was very difficult to see but I was determined to retrace my steps from the parking lot, to the rest room, up the stairs and into my office.
When I pulled into the parking lot I noticed that security had blocked the space where I was parked with orange cones, they do that sometimes to reserve parking for special guests. Since there was no car parked in the space I had a clear view from the car and there on the pavement was a faint sparkle, it was my bracelet! I got out of the car and picked it up and said “thank you Father.”
The bracelet was cold and wet but it was not broken. I dried it off and put it in my purse for safe keeping. I was so glad that I found it. It was like finding a lost pet on a cold rainy night.
But then I had this feeling of sadness. Do I love things more than I love people I thought? Would I have turned back on such a cold and rainy night to help a person who maybe had car trouble or just needed to talk to someone about a problem? Am I as worried about lost souls? Would I have agonized this much over being thoughtless and unkind to someone?
It took me 2 hours to get home that rainy night but the best part of it was not finding my bracelet. The best part was recognizing that God loves me and honors me even when I ask Him for selfish material things. I had already learned that God wants us to love Him more than things and to also love our neighbor as we love ourselves but this night He made it real to me.
Matthew 22: 37-39 says “Thou shalt love the Lord they God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
