An Encouraging Word- The Joy of Lost Things (November 2, 2025)

An Encouraging Word - The Joy of Lost Things 
November 2, 2025

    (Author’s Note: I started a writing blog about ten years ago to write devotional thoughts and publish them.  This one was written in 2018, so you will see references to my kids still living at home. A lot has changed since then. My children are all grown up and out in the world and time has marched on , as it always does. But the Good News in this devotional is still wonderful for today. MB  )

When we moved into my grandparent's farmhouse about 8 years ago I found a cute little black teapot just big enough for about two cups of tea. We found it inside of a wall when we were remodeling the kitchen.  It was full of little treasures. There were old coins from my grandfather's time overseas in the Navy, and my mother and her sister's little baby bracelets from the hospital, and some old pieces of mismatched jewelry. There was a coin stamped with the name of the coal mine and the miner number for my great-grandfather.  The little teapot was stamped “Japan” on the bottom and was from the 1930’s.  It was pretty neat to find all of these lost things hidden in  the wall!


I started keeping watch when I visited thrift shops and flea markets to see if I could find some more antique teapots from that era- probably 1920's-1940's.  I would pick one up about once a year and display it on a shelf in my living room. I just enjoyed looking at them and the pretty designs.  Last month, my little 4 year old nephew came over to visit for the day. He was showing off his Power Ranger kicks and accidentally knocked down the shelf off the wall.  Naturally, there were some tea pots that were broken when this happened. We swept it all up and threw the shattered pieces away. Thankfully, we saved the lid to my grandmother's little black tea pot and I was able to glue it back together. Unfortunately, there was a beautiful jade colored tea pot that I could not find the lid for. I was really sad about this one because it was the first tea pot that I found in a thrift shop after I started looking for them. I guess you could say it was my thrifting aha! tea pot. 


Today we were cleaning the house. My son was cleaning the living room and moved the couch out to sweep and mop while I was on an errand in town. He called me and let me know that he had found the lid to my green tea pot under the couch and that it was unbroken! I was so excited to know that I could put that tea pot back together again- whole , perfect, and enjoy not only looking at it on the shelf, but using it soon to enjoy a cup or two of tea.


     I was thinking about that today. There is such joy in finding a lost thing.  Sometimes it is something small, like a lid to a tea pot. Sometimes it is something unexpected- like finding a tea pot time capsule in the wall of your home.  Other times it is something big- like finding your child when they get lost in the store, or locating your car keys when you are in a hurry in the morning.  Whatever it is, there is a rush of pure joy when you find it.  I don't know if you have ever thought about this...but we are all lost things at some point in our lives, and we dearly need to be found.


     May I share with you how I was found?  When I was about 9 years old I went to church camp in northern Ohio at a Mennonite camp called Camp Luz.  I don't remember a whole lot about that week, but I do remember that it was a pivotal point in my life, because it was there that I made the decision to become a believer.  I remember praying and asking Jesus to come into my life.  It was like someone was pouring pure joy into my heart.  I knew right then that something in my life had changed.  I experienced that pure joy again when I was a teenager and I asked God to help me have the courage and strength to put Him first in my life and to follow Him all of my days.


     I know that I'm not much of a person, and in the line up of humanity, I know that I am pretty insignificant.  But, I do know that I was lost and then I was found. I believe that the angels in heaven rejoiced that day and that my Heavenly Father did too. I also don't think that we experience the wonderful gift of salvation and redemption so that we can just look good and sit on a shelf like a pretty tea pot or a collectible, like a Boyd's Bear with a tag that says "Christian , #1999".  I believe that when God delivers our lives and redeems us that we are supposed to share that with others around us, serving them, caring for them, and sharing this great gift with them too. This world desperately needs to experience the life-changing joy of going from lost to found by the Savior.


My friends, we live in a world where people are choosing to do whatever they think is right or wrong. They have no direction , sometimes no care for anyone except for themselves.  While we have our children, our grandchildren, our school children in our influence, we have a short time to instill in them what is right and what is wrong. Think on what that Scripture from Romans says, "how can they hear unless someone tells them?".   We need to share Christ with those around us. We can give them a wonderful HOPE in this life.  Instead of trying to base their personal worth on their own accomplishments, looks, sports, clubs, academics, etc., we can point them to the One who can be their all in all. The only One who can fill the longing in our lives for redemption and acceptance.


Share Christ with those around you! Please don't just be the "limited edition Christian " up on the display shelf. Be courageous! Be brave! Help those around you  to experience the joy of being a lost thing that has been found by the Savior. It will change our world!

Scriptures to Hide in Your Heart Today:
Romans 10: 14-15 (New Living Translation)
14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”


Romans 10:9-10 (New International Version)
“ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 (New International Version)
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

Luke 15: 3-10 (New International Version)
“Then Jesus told them this parable:  “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders  and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”


Songs to Encourage You:

Take It To Jesus (Anna Golden with Tasha Layton)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY-QdAWMlxc&list=RDIu8t9D1SZys&index=2

Wonderful Counselor (Pat Barrett)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXQxt4gW61A&list=RDIu8t9D1SZys&index=23

Cry of the Broken (Darlene Zschech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyG76_iIIWg&list=RDIu8t9D1SZys&index=24

Prince of Peace (Josh Baldwin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfUSiAKnz0E&list=RDIu8t9D1SZys&index=27

If I Got Jesus (Ben Fuller)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p6lgcuZemY&list=RDIu8t9D1SZys&index=27


You Are Loved Beyond Measure!
Melissa Boggs

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