Feb
8
2018

The Star Wars Car

Posted in Salvation | Leave a comment

I was looking forward to having a young mother and her two sons come over.
We had the date on the calendar for a while.
I remember when she had her second son a year ago.
It was hard to believe that an entire year had passed.

I got out the toys I thought her boys would like to play with while we had tea in the kitchen.
It is easy to think about what a three-year-old and a one-year-old would like.
I once had two boys that age.
Anything with wheels is usually a big hit.

I got out the Playskool garage that has an actual garage door opener.
I got out some trucks.
I got out a wooden racer with a car that flips over as it goes down the many levels.
I opened the toy chest so they could choose whatever they wanted to play with from there.

When children go to a new place and have new toys to play with they are thrilled.
It is quite easy to have two hours at the kitchen table while the children play near us.
The boys were sweet and played so nicely.
Every once in a while, they would come in the kitchen to climb on their mother’s lap.

They had some homemade banana bread.
They had some yogurt.
They were fortified to go and play some more.
It was a delightful morning.

When the three-year-old boy came into my house, he had something in his hand.
He showed me his prized possession.
It was a Star Wars car that he brought with him.
He kept it close by him when he laid it down to play with the toys on the floor.

It was approaching the time when they were going to leave to go home for nap time.
The little boy had a look of concern on his face.
I saw him talk to his mother very quietly.
Oh, we will find it, she said softly, it has to be here somewhere.

His prized possession, his Star Wars car, was missing.
It has to be here, she said to him sweetly.
I looked at all the toys on the floor of my family room.
It had to be there, somewhere.

The Star Wars car was quite small.
It was a purplish, burgundy color.
I knew that it would stand out.
We just had to start moving some toys around.

We moved Mr. Potato head with all his accessories.
We moved wooden blocks.
We moved puzzle pieces, an Etch-a-Sketch, and Woody and Jessie from Toy Story.
We looked inside the empty toy chest; the Star Wars car was nowhere to be found.

I knew that I would see this young mom at church.
How hard could it be to find one little car?
When I took a step back and looked at us in the moment, it was funny.
Here we were, two grown women, looking for a small car among all the toys.

It was important.
It was special.
It was his prized possession.
It was somewhere among all the pieces lying on the floor.

We just could not see it.
It was as if it simply vanished.
It was not under the love seat.
It was not under my favorite chair.

The little three-year-old boy was brave.
He never cried.
Where did you leave it? His mom asked him.
He could not say for sure, since it was near him all the time.

I knew that when I put the toys away, I would inevitably find it.
I hoped I would.
I will just bring it to church on Sunday, I said decidedly.
As I turned to go into the kitchen, something caught my eye.

There under my large farm table was the Star Wars car.
The little boy came in to eat and must have dropped it as he sat in the chair.
It was right under the chair where he was sitting.
It blended in with the dark wood of the chairs and the color of the floor.

I told him that I found his car and pointed to where I saw it.
He came into the kitchen, so excited to retrieve his prized possession from under the table.
He had such a huge smile on his face.
He never let go of that car, not even for a minute.

I helped him get his shoes and his coat on while his mother got his brother ready for the cold.
The coat sleeve had to go over the Star Wars car.
The boots had to go on while the car was in his hand.
The warm hat went on his head while he held on to that car for dear life.

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:3-7)

After the sweet young mom and her sons left, I thought about a parable.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will leave the ninety-nine and go after the one lost sheep.
It is Jesus who does the seeking.
It is Jesus who seeks and saves the lost. (Luke 19:10)

The Star Wars car was unable to point us to it as it was on the kitchen floor.
It was helpless until it was found.
The Star Wars car could not seek the little boy; the lost sheep could not seek the Shepherd.
The Seeker is always Jesus; what Jesus seeks, He finds.

God seeks us before we ever try to find Him.
We cannot seek Him on our own.
The Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe and the desire to seek God.
Even faith is a gift from God.

We looked everywhere for that little Star Wars car.
The little three-year-old would not let that car out of his hand for a minute once it was found.
Imagine how safely we are held in God’s hands.
Those whom God seeks, He finds.

Whispers of His Movement and Whispers in Verse books are now available in paperback and e-book!

http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/book/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *