Lost Earring, Faith Found

Lost Earrings, Faith Found

Ashly P. Ash

Faith is something that we hear a lot about in our lives.  “Have faith” that you will end up with provision and that everything will work out the way it is supposed to.  “Let go and let God” is another term we throw around so easily to encourage one another to keep faith.

Sometimes I wonder how many of us really believe in the things that we are heading towards.  Are we living in expectation?  Are we preparing the way for the promises that we know are in our future?

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 7:7-12

My jewelry collection is very dear to my heart.  Each piece of jewelry I own has been purchased as a gift for me or holds sentimental value to me.  Some of my pieces are collected from places I have traveled like a piece of shipwreck jewelry and a Colorado pinecone dipped in silver.   Other pieces are very dear to my heart like the very first necklace my husband bought me in Williamsburg, VA when we were still dating.  A lot of the pieces I have are one of five matching pieces that my parents bought and distributed among my four sisters and mother.  Matching jewelry seems to be a theme in my family. One piece I have as a gift from my mother and father from Italy.  It is a heart shaped murano glass necklace and it had matching earrings.  In the tragic event of a fire in our apartment I lost one of the earrings and whenever I have attempted to discard the other one (deeming it as pointless) I have felt a tug in my heart to hold on to it.

As many of you know my husband and I dream for the day when we will have a child.  We feel very certain based on the desire in our heart and confirmation from the Lord in various forms that this is His plan for us.  We may not yet know the specifics of this but we do know that in His timing this dream will become a reality.  Still, the waiting is the hardest part because waiting fulfillment of a promise is when arrows of doubt are constantly being shot at our minds and attitudes.  I think I know more than anyone that in these situations your entire being aches from thinking and dreaming on something so that the phrase “Let go and let God” isn’t an easy feat.

A few weeks ago I came across that lone earring again in my jewelry collection.  I sought out a lady that does jewelry repair and creative jewelry work and I felt that I should take it to her.  Though I wasn’t too sure why I was supposed to do this I got together some other jewelry in need of a repair and headed over.  As I went I felt so strongly that I shouldn’t just dream and speak with my mouth that I believe God will give me a child but that I should be living in expectation.  So I took the earring in and asked her to turn it into a necklace to be a smaller matching pendant like my own.  I felt that when I have a child, if it is a girl, she will get this necklace and it will match her mother’s (mine) as the tradition in my family calls for.

Shortly before this I was browsing in a clothing store one day when I felt I should choose to walk in faith by buying a few infant outfits in preparation of the future.  Even then as I stood there trying to decide if it was wise to spend money on something I could not see materializing at that point I knew in my heart it wasn’t about the money or even the dream, but about trusting God and living like it.

What do you trust God for?  What do you believe for?  What steps can you take to walk out your faith today?  You may not see your dream materialize today, tomorrow, or even a year from now but live like you do.  Find the things that are dear to your heart and use them to contribute and prepare for your dreams.  Dig out your lost-cause earrings or set aside some closet space to prepare for a baby!  Some may think this is radical behavior and I agree wholeheartedly it is radical faith!  Faith that is a gift from within and a way to allow us to lean on and rely on Jesus because we have something invested beyond simple words.  Actions speak louder than words, let’s act!

Abram set out when God called him out of his hometown and did not even know where he was going, but he still went.  The people of Israel wandering through the desert followed the cloud by day and fire by night not having a clue if they were headed in the right direction.  Noah built an ark despite ridicule and laughter not even knowing if he would need it!

Hebrews 11 states many great men and women of faith!  Read and reflect on this chapter and realize that many of these men and women never lived to see the final affect of their walk of faith!  Abraham never lived to see his descendants as numerous as the stars yet day by day he walked and lived as if it would really happen and as a result the promise was fulfilled benefiting each and every one of us today.

Even when we know and see the light at the end of the tunnel, what is the point of reaching our destination if we have not enjoyed the journey along the way?  Take time to walk by faith, act in faith, live as if your promises will be fulfilled by God tomorrow.  When God gave Abram a promise he called him out of his tent and told him to look up.  So while we are waiting for our promises to be fulfilled let us not forget to step out of ourselves, look up to the God of all creation, and enjoy every moment of the journey.