Spiritual Thoughts: It's always in the last place you left it...

Have you ever lost something? It always seems to come up "lost" when we desperately need it at that moment doesn't it? That starts the frantic "tear the room/car/closet apart mentality because I need it NOW" mode. I seem to find myself in that "mode" a lot, and still haven't determined why. Of course, when you ask someone near you if they've seen said object, they most times will respond with "It's always in the last place you left it." It makes for a few laughs, but that phrase couldn't be more true.

The other day I was coming home from camp, and when I left I was triple sure I had everything ready to go. I said to myself "I was only here for a night, what could I POSSIBLY forget?" About half way through the drive I reached over to the passenger seat to get my water bottle, only to have no luck. I was a tad bit frantic as I was afraid I'd left my favorite water bottle at camp, and that I wouldn't be able to get it back. I pulled the car over at the safest possible moment, and began that "tear the car apart mode." I looked in the back seats, under the front seats, in my bags...any place I could think of....EXCEPT on top of my trunk where the rear spoiler is. I drove half way home from camp with my favorite water bottle wedged in front of my rear spoiler. I did the typical "DOH" smack on the head and said to myself "How did you get there?" (As if it would answer me back haha) I realized as I was climbing back in my car that it was because I had become complacent about my packing habits. I thought "I've camped 100's of times, I have a good system, and on a short weekend I can't possibly forget anything"

We can relate this to our Faith as well. We tend to reach a point in our Faith where we become "complacent" with the way God is working in our lives, and thats when we let our guard down. At that point, believe it or not, we can tend to fall farther away from God and "temporarily misplace" our Faith. And most of the time its not to the point where we have to tear our lives apart to find it again, but just enough to keep us looking, and it's ALWAYS in the last place we left it! :)

This verse in 2 Peter 3:9 gives a perspective on God's grace...

(9) “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

That to me is so amazing. No matter what, we can misplace our Faith just like I did my water bottle, and it will be there right where we left it to pick back up and keep going.

Toby Mac's song "Get Back Up" is probably one of my favorite Christian rock songs right now. It reminds me every day I listen that no matter what, God will be there ready for us to get back up again. The Chorus is a great motivational line

We lose our way,
but we get back up again,
it's never to late to get back up again,
one day, you gonna shine again!
you may be knocked down but not out forever