Lost and Found--God's Way

Have you ever dropped or put something aside, then looked for it with all your might, and not found it until you "let it go", did something else, looked down, and saw it immediately right under your nose? Keys, books, receipts, a paper clip on a multi-colored rug, they seem to disappear and reappear at will...their will, not ours. Yesterday afternoon I had a dramatic example of this phenomenon, in that I was the object lost.
In an effort to save time returning to the Reservation from a city in Nebraska, named Chadron, I took what I thought I remembered, also having been assured by some Native Americans, was the Chadron Road...a short cut to the REZ. It looked familar at first, and the gravel was smooth so I was able to drive between 45 asnd 50 mph, good speed on gravel. Then came a T, labeled "Slim Buttes Road", which I did not remember. I went right, and then after awhile, the gravel faded away to just dirt and ruts. I knew then that this was NOT the Chadron Road. The land was vast beyond imagination and I had no idea where I was. The only consolation was a rainbow in the East. When I saw a series of buttes in that same direction, the Slim Buttes, I was assured that I was at least headed in the right direction, but I passed them and the road I was searching for did not appear. My short cut had certainly turned into a long cut. Then a ranch appeared ahead, and people were visible around some haying machinery. I turned in to seek directions of a man who walked toward me with a knowing smile. "How are you?" he asked. "I'm fine, but lost." His smile grew as he shook my hand. It was then I recognized him as my dear friend Reuben, at whose ranch many a black angus steak dinner was shared and where we were to meet the following day to honor my visit. I was a day early! I had approached his ranch from "the back 40" without knowing it. What a relief to know where I was and what joy in the adventure that had such a happy ending. "I once was lost, but now I'm found" as we sing in AMAZING GRACE.
So often we work ourselves into a dither without realizing that we are never lost; the solution or the evasive object we are looking for always appears "in God's good time".
Bro. Rene