Holiness in our Midst: Session 46

SESSION XLVI: ON BEING LOST AND FOUND

STORY CIRCLE PROMPT: Share about a time when you were lost, then found.

Bible verses from Luke 15 help me when I am figuratively lost: the Parable of the Lost Sheep when I’m feeling alone (Luke 15:1-8); the Parable of the Lost Coin when I’ve lost something (Luke 15: 8-11); and the Parable of the Lost Son when I have relational issues (Luke 15:11-32).

But these verses weren’t helpful when I was traveling late one August night, literally lost.

I had missed the 1-80 exit on my way to the 2015 Northern Plains District Conference in West Des Moines, IA. The bright green freeway signs indicated I was in Altoona, somewhere close to Adventureland theme park. I took the nearest exit and turned into the parking lot of the Flying J Truck Stop, trying to get my bearings. I’ve always been directionally challenged. I tend to conjure up worst case scenarios when I find myself on unfamiliar roads. (What if I keep making wrong turns…forever…?)

I wound my way through the vast restaurant looking for truck-driver types. At a counter in back, I came across a bunch of them talking up a storm. I addressed them as a group, saying simply that I was lost and could anyone help me. They were polite and kind. They turned to a guy named Joe and designated him as the spokesperson for the group. “Joe knows his way around here,” they said.

“Well, first of all, Miss,” Joe said, “you aren’t lost, you’re just misplaced.” The work misplaced somehow immediately righted my world in a healing way. I was “somewhere,” not “nowhere.” Then he wrote down detailed exit numbers, and the whole group wished me well on my journey. Traveling the rest of the way to the conference, I thought about Hebrews 13:2 and those who show hospitality to strangers as being “angels unawares.” A Good ol’ Boy had given me divine guidance: hope from a new philosophy on being lost and perfect directions on a greasy napkin.

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection.

2.   Write about a time when you were lost, literally or figuratively. Where were you geographically? Or in what state of mind were you at the time? How were you found? How did the experience change you?

FOR GROUP STUDY:

1.   Read aloud Session XLVI.   
2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

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Note: Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com.