For weeks, I haven’t been able to find a ponytail holder anywhere in the house. I go to make dinner or take a walk, and I want to pull my hair back. But I can’t find one of those elastic bands anywhere.
So, while grocery shopping the other day, I went down the hair accessories aisle and grabbed a package of bands to bring home. I was so proud of myself for remembering. What a simple, inexpensive item, but having the ponytail holders on hand would make my life so much easier.
When I got home, I pulled the package out of the grocery bag and went to put it in my bedroom. Where should I keep it? How about that top drawer in the dresser? That seemed like a good spot.
I slid the drawer open. As I did, I immediately spotted the last set of identical bands I purchased—safely tucked inside the perfect storage spot.
Of course. There they were. I hadn’t thought to look there when I was searching the house for ponytail holders at any point in the past few weeks, but I found them right away as soon as I had new ones to put away.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had similar experiences with Parmesan cheese or cans of tuna fish or jars of pasta sauce. Somehow that item I need is never where I need it to be until I buy a new one. Then I find all the others of its kind sitting there waiting for me when I go to put it away.
Whenever I do, I get frustrated that I am not more mentally organized. But I also have to laugh. Because it really is crazy that my mind knows where to store things, but not where to find them.
I also can’t help but feel that God is giving me a little nudge every time—with a little bit of a father’s gentle laugh. It feels like a little reminder that even when I think I’m lacking something, I have exactly what I need. In fact, I might have more than I even realize, if I just take the time to look.
After all, Jesus is peace and hope and love. And He is with us every step of the way. Even when we might feel empty or weak or lacking, we can know He is with us—if we just know how to see Him.
I hope today you feel that God is with you through whatever joys and challenges the day brings.
“In the first place, it should be known that if a person is seeking God, His beloved is seeking him much more,” said St. John of the Cross.
We can be certain that He is seeking each one of us. And we will find Him, with us, right where He’s been all along.
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