But You Haven't Lost Me!

I am an avid journaler.

And at any given time I have at least 4 journals that I am actively depositing content.

Even though it sounds silly, these small books mean everything to me.  They hold within them thoughts and ideas and sermon notes and teachings that I intend to preserve for years to come.  They contain prayer requests for loved ones, great nuggets of wisdom from speakers from all over the world, and God-breathed words straight from heaven.

And I remember wrestling with the thought to take it to the concert last Wednesday night.  I knew I would want to take notes… to capture the moments to process later… and it was a last minute decision to take one that was near full to capacity and busting at the seams.

And even days later I am wondering why I had to choose… that one.  Of all the blank ones available to me.

It would be less than 24 hours later that I would realize I didn’t have it.

And with a sinking heart I searched and searched - to no avail.

It was gone.

And I had remembered, only then, that I had laid it on the chair beside me.  The one that folds up when not weighted properly.

My journal.  The one possession of precious value.

Now gone.

And I can always tell when God is working on this weary heart of mine.  I can feel it in the way His purpose is visioned in the midst of heartache and pain.

And it was only today, as I was still grieving the loss of penned words I may never recall without it’s physical presence in my life, that I heard Him.  God whispering straight to my spirit… “But you haven’t lost Me.”

Ahh… yes…. God.  That!  You’re right!

And I just might see it now.

My best friend would tell me, “Those written words may be saving a soul right now.” 

And she’s right.

And so is He.

Because we will all experience loss.  And far greater than a $10 journal.

And He whispers it again… multiple times as needed to penetrate this hard head… “But you haven’t lost Me.”

And it’s true for all the losses in my life.  It’s always been true.

“I lost that friend, God.”  “Yeah, but you haven’t lost Me!”
“I lost that job I loved, God.”  “Yeah, but you haven’t lost Me!”
“I lost all my strength, God.”  “Yeah, but you haven’t lost Me!”
“I lost their trust, God.”  “Yeah, but you haven’t lost Me!”

It is a journal.  It is the small stuff.  Because at the end of the day, those God-inspired words just might, at this very moment, be blessing someone who needs to know they haven’t lost Him.  And it took a small town girl with a journal obsession to remind them of His amazing grace and love!