Rests In God’s Love
Like the rest of us, Rosana Ramirez and her family have taken a real beating this year. Bouts with Covid-19 and joblessness have just about worn her out. So, when she reached for her wedding ring set – she often twists it on her finger whenever she’s upset – and it wasn’t there, her stress level soared. Hers was a combination wedding band and diamond engagement ring that she’d had on her finger for 21 years of marriage. Discovering that it was missing – without a clue as to where it could be – sent her mood into a nose dive.
Rosana had made a trip to a manicurist (Q Nails & Salon in Portland, Texas) the day before. She recalled that the staff asked her to remove her ring while they massaged her hands and worked on her nails. So, she drove to the shop to see if they had the ring.
They didn’t. But at Rosana’s insistence they reviewed the surveillance video from the previous day. She discovered that one of the staff members had accidentally folded the ring up in a disposable placemat and tossed it in the garbage. But there was a big problem. The dumpster that held the trash was due to be emptied that day and the trash brought to a city landfill.
Rosana ran outside to the dumpster. The trash hadn’t yet been picked up. So, with the help of the entire nail salon staff, Rosana got into the dumpster and searched through dozens of bags of garbage from multiple businesses. But bag after bag yielded no ring. Not until they got to the very last bag at the bottom did Rosana find her ring.
The staff profusely apologized for the mishap, yet rejoiced with her that she recovered her ring set. But no one was happier or more relieved than Rosana. Stories of lost wedding rings appear quite frequently in the news. I’ve come across some in which the wife goes as far as the landfill itself and sifts through the sludge to find her ring. There are simply things in life that are so treasured that their owners will go to any length to retrieve them.
Doesn’t this remind us of the parables Jesus told in Luke 15, especially the one about the woman’s lost coin (Luke 15:8-10).
Didn’t Jesus do some serious “dumpster diving” when He came into this world “to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10)? As Rosana searched down to the last bag of trash, Jesus pursued us until He found us. Remember Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. He climbed a tree to see Jesus. Little did he know that Jesus was already seeking him.
If only we were as cooperative with Jesus in His search to save us! We often wander as far from Him as is humanly possible – as this ring was in the very last bag of trash. But that did not deter Mrs. Ramirez. She was not about to let the slime and smell of the dumpster stop her from finding the ring she’d had on her finger for 21 years of marriage.
Sometimes we need to just stop and rest in the Lord’s love for us (Psalm 37:7; 46:10; Romans 8:35-39). We need to remind ourselves that we are far closer to Jesus’ heart and far more cherished by Him than any ring. Hasn’t our Lord already proved the inestimable value He places upon us by suffering the agonies of the cross to spare us from eternal judgment? Wouldn’t He say to us now, “If that woman dove into the trash to find her cherished ring, is there anything that I wouldn’t do to save you, to meet your needs, to protect you, and to bring you safely into My heavenly Kingdom?” Jesus implied this much in Matthew 7:9-11 and Luke 15:8-10.
We’ve all been through a war this year and we greatly need to rest our heads on the Lord’s shoulders. We all feel battle-weary and need to cast our burdens and our cares upon Jesus (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). We need to rest in His love, for He values us infinitely more than we value ourselves. We need to remind ourselves that God is working relentlessly on our behalf – working all things together for our good and for His glory (Romans 8:28). If God did not spare His own Son in order to save us, but gave Him over to suffer the fires of hell in our place, there is nothing He won’t do to save, bless, and help us (Romans 8:32).
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, upon Your breast I rest my worried head. Upon Your mighty shoulders I cast my burdens and cares. Please open my eyes to Your love for me and Your relentless activity on my behalf. Help me to see that nothing and no one can ever pluck me from Your almighty grasp. Amen.
(Information from: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/08/26/Nail-salon-employees-dig-through-dumpster-for-customers-lost-ring/7621598474042/)