I remember we drove out of the driveway that morning, and were headed to the highway.... when a panic stricken shriek pierced the calm.
"BOB!" Stop!..The diamond is missing out of my ring!" I cannot remember the reaction of my dad at that moment, but, I could sense the absolute panic in the words of my mother.
I think we continued on to the family the visit that day..... but, in returning home, the search began.
I have vague memories of my mom frantically scouring the driveway outside, thinking that perhaps her large center diamond from her wedding ring had fallen there... and when that search was exhausted, she moved to the house....
Anywhere, and everywhere that the diamond could have fallen was thoroughly searched. Mom in hysterics, crying and lamenting that her diamond was gone...
As a child, I felt bad. It seemed like a problem of enormous improbabilities..
How does one even begin to find a lost diamond? I think the task is something akin to the old saying..."Its like trying to find a needle in a haystack".
About the same time, I missplaced my treasured little brown paper bag of candy.
I felt the same amount of loss... I wanted that candy so bad. Where could I have put it? I looked all over my bedroom and all the places that I, in my young life would have left it. But, just the same as my mom trying to find her lost diamond, my candy was no where to be found.
I was disappointed, and felt a little guilty that my missing candy was just as important (to me) as the lost diamond was to my mom.
I can remember hearing drawers being opened, and emptied, and objects being shuffled around, and all the while the exasperated sighing, mingled with some crying coming from my now depressed mom.
I did feel bad for her. My measly attempts looking for the diamond, during the intial stages of the family hunt had also produced no results.
So, here we were. My mother missing the large center diamond of her wedding ring, and I left without the little precious bag of candy.
What were we to do?
When all else fails...pray. Well, I know now, that prayer should be the very first thing to do in a crisis, but at the time, with so many lessons yet to be learned in life, I have to admit, it was the last thing I did, after we had all but given up any hope of every seeing that diamond again..and I, well, I figured that my little bag of candy was long gone as well.
So, being a little girl, and young to the ways of God, but, yet having a childlike faith decided to pray. I decided to make a sacrifice...and thus bargained with God.
The prayer went something like this...
"Dear God... If you will just let me find my moms diamond, or let her find it, I wont ask you to help me find my candy."
In my childish thinking, I decided to 'sacrifice the candy, in hopes that God would take me up on that, and let the diamond be found instead!"
Now, I cannot remember if I went to sleep, with that bargain hanging in the air between God and I, or not.....
but, I do remember going into the bathroom, probably to brush my teeth or wash my face. Probably in pajamas, and certainly barefoot.
Standing there, in that bathroom, looking up into the big mirror above the counter, I felt a really sharp stab in my heel. It was the kind of pain that makes you instantly react. I lifted up my foot, to remove whatever it was that poked into my heel.
As I reacted to the pain, and lifting my foot up, and swiping it off with my hand, I felt something fall into my hand. I took a look at what had jabbed so painfully into my heel, and there sat a brilliant sparkling diamond. I took one long look...and gasped and closed my hand tightly around the object...and ran running to my mom, screeching that I found her diamond.
At first, it was just too much for mom to believe that I had her diamond clenched tightly in my fist. She thought I was joking, and admonished me that it wasnt the right time to play jokes.... and all I remember thinking was that I wasnt joking! And, how to convince her? I told her to look! As I unclenched my fist, there sat the brilliant diamond in the palm of my hand.
I cant say how speechless we all were, and the look of complete relief on my moms face made me feel so good. I knew in my heart that something really great had happened.
God had heard my prayer! My mom had her diamond back!
I dont know when, but, shortly thereafter, my little brown paper bag of candy reappeared too! It had fallen under my bed...the one place I hadnt thought to look.
Not only did God answer a little girls prayer, he even gave me my candy back as a bonus I suppose. I realized then, that God doesnt need our bargainings, or sacrifices to act on our behalf...... His Son already accomplished all that by giving his life for us....
All I had to do was pray and ask in faith, and God heard and answered.
What a life lesson I learned over that one missing diamond.
Now, I am not a young little girl anymore. My life difficulties are not about loosing little paper bags of candy. I wouldnt even 'bother God over such a trivial matter now.... yet, even if I did, I know he would hear me. And, if I believe with faith, he will answer me, and give me more than I could imagine....
He is a good God, and cares about our little things in life. He just waits for us to come to him, and share them with him, and ask him to be a part. And, when we make him a part of even the little things of our life, we wont be disappointed!
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