My Simple Request
It’s amazing the things you find when you’re looking for other things.
After a month and a half of phone calls and house rampages for a pair of lost keys, I wondered if I should give up and buy new ones. With two Toyota keys and remotes, however, the replacement cost could be over $500. I decided to keep looking and praying.
“God, I know you know where my keys are. Can you please tell me… I know they’re safe with you, and I thank you in advance because I really think you want to bring them back to me ~ don’t you?”
These were well-prayed-for keys!
While eating lunch yesterday, I indulged in a little SkyAngel t.v. I pressed the wrong button and watched Charles Stanley talk about standing on the promises of God. Great show!
I thought about my missing keys, and began to thank God for hearing my prayers and keeping his promises. When it was over, I switched to Life Today with James Robison. One of his guest’s comments made me thank God for working on our behalf. Then the phone rang.
His Simple Response
I looked at the caller i.d. Godfather’s Pizza? Had someone pranked us by giving them our number? Was pizza on its way?
“Are you missing a big set of keys?”
“Yes! You have them?”
“I do, and they’re right here on our shelf.”
“But how did you…?”
“They were here for a long time, and I finally called Toyota and used your little rewards card code to track you down.”
Rewards card? With so many gidgets, gadgets and trinkets on my key ring, I didn’t even know I had a rewards card! I’d been mostly focussed on my sun-sensitive Jesus tag. That’s what I told everybody about while phoning and looking.
I’d never travelled so fast to a restaurant when I wasn’t hungry. My heart beat fast as I opened the restaurant door. Just as the manager said, my keys were nestled safely on their shelf.
Divine Connection
“For a reward,” I told him, “you get a free copy of A Friend in the Storm.”
He seemed pleased. As I autographed his book, the Lord opened my eyes to see the irony.
“I’ve been praying to God the Father about these keys; and here they are ~ at Godfathers! Sir, I told God I know he knows where they are. And it’s true. They were safe with the Father all along!”
No, this wasn’t my typical evangelism strategy. Leave keys in Godfathers. Wait a full month and a half, then return to store to talk to manager and give him a book!
I looked at the new business card I’d placed in his copy of “A Friend in the Storm.” It featured this poem: “Heaven’s Breeze.”
“Look,” I told him. “Even my new card talks about the Father.”
As I hurried out the door, I prayed for the manager. I hope you will too. Please pray “A Friend in the Storm” touches his heart. And if for some reason, he happens to meander to my website and reads this post, “Mr. Manager, please know that God loves you. He wants to manage your life and make you better than the same.”
I bounced toward my car and pressed the remote. Funny, it’s usually-annoying beep sounded almost heavenly.
Something struck me. I lost my keys a couple days before my youngest son’s birthday. July first. And I found them just a couple days before my oldest son’s birthday. August 15.
Divine Lesson
I asked the Lord what this means, and he reminded me he’s in charge of birthdays, celebrations, dates, times, and all the seasons of our lives. He’s in charge of everything that’s near and dear to our hearts – like our kids! We may feel like we’re losing them, but we’re not. God hears all our prayers, and he’s perfectly on time. He’s working behind the scenes, using every possible circumstance to show his power and prompt our praise.
He also reminded me to keep praying and not give up. No matter where we accidentally end up, we can make a difference.
He’s given us the keys to the Kingdom. Our lives aren’t as random as they seem. We’re supernatural beings dwelling in a supernatural dimension. We’re surrounded with angels who continually move on our behalf.
Oh, and he also reminded me to keep better track of my keys!
Lost and found stories anyone? Don’t “lose” out on the opportunity to leave a comment below. God bless you!
Loved your story and hearing the lesson you learnt from the experience, very powerful and very wonderful, truly divine. God Bless xxx
Glad it blessed you, Gina! Our God is an awesome God!
Dear Cheryl,
I do have a good lost and found story. I used it as a devotion at a writing retreat several years ago. If I can get a battery for my other laptop and find it in my writing folder, I will email it to you, OK?
Please enter your book into a poetry book contest. I know God would be honored.
Love you,
Linda Greer
You’re sweet, Linda! You can always post your story here or email it to me at ricker.cheryl@gmail.com. I’m glad A Friend in the Storm has been such a blessing to you! If you here of any contests I’d be eligible for, I’d love to here about them. Thanks!
I felt a little shiver down my back when I read, “Then the phone rang.”
Exactly. I think I shivered too. The moment when the pizza guy on the phone said the word, “keys.” : )
I believe this wesibte has some very fantastic information for everyone. The individual will always be a minority. If a man is in a minority of one, we lock him up. by Oliver Wendell Holmes.