the lost earring

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

I am sensitive. Every part of me is sensitive, so when it comes to cheap earrings, my ear lobes are no different. I struggle to find the right kind of metal that will play nice with my ears.

My husband and I typically do not exchange gifts on occasions other than birthdays and Christmas but he wanted to surprise me with a really nice pair of earrings.

So nice that they were guaranteed not to breakout my ears.

So nice that the stone or ruby in the earring was about to go extinct and they were getting rarer to find.

So nice that he logged in extra time at work just to afford them.

He presented them to me on Valentine’s Day while we were out at a restaurant. I was really taken back – and a little annoyed that he had spent so much money on earrings. But he said that he wanted me to have a good pair of studs. So sweet, right?!

The only concern he had, of course, was for me not to lose them. I remember daily – a of couple times a day – really checking and making sure they were on my ears fit and snug. I wore those earrings for 21 months straight.

Somehow in the car one day, the backing fell off the left earring. I watched it as it rolled down my chest.

Onto my leg.

Onto the floor mat.

I told myself that I immediately needed to get the backing now so that I wouldn’t forget and end up losing it all together. I tried but I was struggling to drive safely and dig for it. I told myself I’d get it when I stopped.

In complete mom brain fashion, I forgot.

We arrived at the gym, I hauled out all three kids and took them to childwatch. Did my workout. Picked up the kids. Put them back in the car. And off we went; headed for home.

We got home, unloaded the kids and started straightening up the house. Later when my husband arrived at home, we all load up in the car again and headed to dinner. I was sitting in the passenger seat staring out the window. When I casually reach up to my ear lobe for its routine check, my heart sank.

The earring wasn’t there.

How stupid I felt! I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten all about it. It never ever resurfaced in my brain that there was an unresolved issue with my jewelry. I was disappointed in myself and I knew my husband would be to.

I, hesitantly and with an extremely heavy heart, told my husband what had happened. He was rightfully bummed out but the wonderful man that he is, just told me that it’s just an earring and things happen.

I was immediately optimistic with him saying, “Well, maybe it’s at the gym and someone found it and turned it in!” or “Maybe it’s in the car and I will just tear the car apart and find it!”

But unfortunately it wasn’t in any of those places.

I prayed to God. I said, “Lord, you can do anything. You put a baby in a virgin’s womb for goodness sake, you can guide me, lead me, reveal to me this lost earring.”

A month went by.

I forgot about the earring. We mourned the loss and went on with our lives. Ha!

A couple days after Christmas, I was cleaning up after chucking the tree outside and taking down lights and singing praises that I could finally reclaim my house from all the holiday fluff! I was vacuuming and not just vacuuming but vacuuming a high traffic area in our living room. I just happened to look down at something shiny.

No way!

There was the earring! Just lying there like it’s been there for a month just waiting for me to step on it! It really didn’t even make sense to be where it was. It was literally in plain view like it was purposely put there for me to see it – and to see it at that specific time.

You see, later that evening, the enemy was about to pop his ugly head up and strike against my family, against my marriage, against my character and my relationship with my King. Trying to break me, attempting to divide a family and trying to get me to fall into his trap and back into my old ways – my old life.

Finding the lost earring wasn’t just a funny coincidence that could be explained in a hundred ways why it was there – because it couldn’t.  If by coincidence that earring would have been there or close to where it was found the whole time it would have had to survived the chaos in my house. A couple of get togethers with friends, play dates with other children and mommas, vacuuming after vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, three small children running and wrestling all over it, three big dogs walking all over it, Christmas morning trash all over it, dance parties with stuffed animals, camping and forts with blankets and pillows and so much more.

There’s no way!

The lost earring was a sign from God. A promise!  It was a gift from God to remind me of His promises for my life and my family. That my faith, no matter how much the enemy tried to test it, tried to break me and my family. Make me fold and crumble. That my faith in God, my relationship with my King, my father, my protector, my comforter, my redeemer, my deliver, the All Mighty, my everlasting love, my grace giver, will be my rock and my fortress.

I sincerely and without a doubt believe that my faith will get me through anything.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t completely hurt by the bad situation that happened just hours after finding the earring. I battled my flesh so much.

I was about to go down a path that wasn’t righteous, wasn’t Christ-like, but the Holy Spirit quickly brought to my attention the earring miracle. God sent me this gift as a reminder that when faced with these struggles to not be moved. To stand firm in Him. Hold onto His word.

He knows everything before it even happens. He knows my personality better than I know it myself. He knew just what I was about to be faced with and once again He was my rescuer. My light and my comforter. He knew how the enemy was going to use my insecurities against me. He got to me before it happened to show me that He’s got me.

I am sensitive and my biggest insecurity is my sensitivity; and the devil knows that. You know who else knows that?

Christ.

He knows that words hurt me more than actions. And words heal me more than actions. For me, a simple two second apology can heal years of emotional damage.

We have the choice to speak life and positivity to one another or to choose hurt and negativity.

My sensitivity is a blessing and a curse at times. God knows this about me. In fact He made me this way for a reason. For the first time, God made me less sensitive to the lies of the enemy and the hurt that was poured onto me and my family. And He made me more sensitive to the fact that He is real and He is alive and well in this world and is walking with us every step of our journey with Him.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians 3:16

Heather Corbin and her husband live in Smithsburg, MD. They attend Lifehouse church and are active at the local YMCA. Heather is a photographer, coffee lover and fitness momma with 3 babies. She is thankful to be a stay at home Mom and is passionate about women’s ministry and the opportunities and gifts God has placed in her life and on her heart.