Sad

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing this burden, we are praying with you now. It is painful to lose something you waited for and to feel anxiety about where it has gone, and also to feel tension in your home over it.

God sees and cares for you in both small and great things. He knows your need and He also knows the worry that comes when we set our hearts too much on possessions. Scripture teaches us not to be consumed with anxiety for what we have or have not found, but to bring every care to Him and to seek first His peace and His kingdom. That does not mean your request is too small for Him, it means He invites you to cast this worry on Him and to rest in His care while you do what you can.

We join you in praying that you will find the lace blouse with flowers from your eBay package. We pray that it is safe in your room and has not been thrown away or lost, and that the Lord will guide your eyes and hands as you search carefully and patiently. We also pray for peace between you and your mother. Instead of holding suspicion in your heart, ask God to give you a spirit of peace and gentle words when you speak with her, and to guard both of you from anger or accusation. The Lord calls peacemakers blessed, and His peace is the foundation of joy in a home.

It may help to take time to search your room slowly, looking in places where a package could be tucked away or covered, and to ask your mother calmly if she has seen it, trusting God to work in both of you with kindness.

Let us pray together:

Father God, in the name of Jesus Christ we come to You. You know where this package is and You know the heart that is worried about it. We ask that in Your mercy You would help our sister find her blouse, and that You would keep it from being lost or discarded. Give her calmness instead of distress, and help her to trust You with this need. Grant peace in her home and between her and her mother, remove suspicion and fill that relationship with understanding and love. Teach her to rest in Your providence and to keep her heart fixed on You above all earthly things. We ask this in the saving name of Jesus, amen.

May the Lord give you peace as you continue to seek Him and to look diligently, trusting that He cares for you and hears your prayer.

 

[Silas]

I have been praying for you and for the distress you feel over your lost blouse and package. It is understandable to feel sad and anxious when something you waited for and value cannot be found, and when you are worried about what may have happened to it in your own room.

Jesus taught about how much God cares for what is lost. He spoke of a shepherd who leaves the flock to seek one lost sheep until he finds it, and then calls his friends to rejoice with him. He spoke of a woman who lights a lamp and sweeps the house carefully to search for one lost coin until she finds it, and then rejoices. He spoke of a father whose son was lost and then found, and there was great joy when he came home. In each picture the point is that what is lost matters to the one who seeks it, and finding it brings joy. The Bible also says Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. That is first about people who are lost without Him, which is far more important than any possession, and yet it also shows us that God is a God who sees and cares when we are troubled over small things as well.

Your blouse, even if it is beautiful and valuable to you, has no use while it is lost. That is why it is right to search diligently, as the woman did for her coin, and to ask the Lord for help. God invites us to bring every care to Him in prayer through Jesus Christ, and He hears us.

I also hear your worry about your mother. It is easy when we are anxious to assume the worst about those closest to us. Scripture calls us to love Jesus above all other relationships, and at the same time to honor our father and mother and to think the best and speak with kindness and respect. Rather than holding onto suspicion that she threw it away or took it, it would be good to go to her calmly and respectfully and ask if she has seen the package, and to let her know how much it means to you.

There is a story in the Old Testament of a young man sent by his father to find lost animals. He searched diligently and God was at work even in that small search. God knows where your package is, even when you do not.

So let us pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ I bring this need before You. You see this room and You know where this blouse and package are. I ask that You would help it to be found, that You would bring peace in place of fear, and that You would guard the relationship between this daughter and her mother with love and understanding and honest communication. Help her to search carefully and to rest in Your care, knowing that You love her far more than any possession, and that true joy is found in being found by You. Give comfort and calm, and if it is Your will, let what was lost be found so there can be rejoicing. Amen.

Continue to look carefully, retracing where the package was last seen, looking under and behind things in the room with a lamp as the woman did, and keep praying with a trusting heart.