Lost and Found

My daughter took us on a drive along the back roads near our little town yesterday.  I brought along my trusty Pentax, whose six megapixels are laughable compared to my iPad or cell phone, but it takes good reference photos -good enough for me to ignore the spots that have become my "watermark."  The camera won't take the newer SDHC cards, so the few cards I have are vital to its functionality.  This morning that I realized that I was missing a memory card- one that had Montana reference photos I wanted for upcoming paintings.  After searching my camera bag, then my daughter's Jeep and the driveway, I panicked, realizing it must have fallen out as I got in and out taking photos yesterday.

Part of me thought, "It's a lost cause- how will you find it along that distance of gravel road?"  Knowing that the card is vital to my camera and the photos are valuable to my career, I prayed.  God often hears my "Please help me find…" prayers, and He always answers them, either by helping me to find the item, or showing me it wasn't that important anyway.  Using photos from the second card, I narrowed the possible search area down to a four-mile stretch of muddy gravel along Beckton and Soldier Creek Roads, near Wolf Creek. 

I drove the road slowly, searching for a speck of blue against the reddish frozen mud.  I got out several times and walked the places I'd gotten out yesterday.  Muddy ranch pickups drove by.  I prayed, and I had faith that I would find it if I was diligent and if it was meant to be.  I nearly turned back for the car again then thought, "Go a little further; be diligent."  A few yards later, there it was: an undamaged one-inch blue chip on a four-mile stretch of muddy gravel road!  I was elated, and held it to the sky, saying, "Thank you, Thank you, Lord!!!" I clutched it tight during the drive home, in wonder that something so small could be found, yet not all that surprised, as I'd had faith in Him whose help I'd requested. 

You might say it was my diligence in seeking it, or coincidence that I happened upon the exact spot where I'd lost it, but I believe it was the Lord's guidance and my faith that brought me to the lost card.   It wasn't a life or death concern, but it doesn't have to be to call for help.  He is behind every good painting: in what I see in His creation around me; in my idea on how to express what I feel for what I see; and in guiding my brush in creating something that might cause others to feel what I felt when I looked at the scene or snapped that quick photo through a dirty lens.  As I use some of these reference photos, I'll remember that He was there when I lost and found the memory card that contained those ideas.