Oh Where Are My Keys?!?

I had an interesting morning.

As I picked up my purse to walk out the door, I reached for my keys on their hooks and my hand grasped air. I took a double-look and said, "Ohmygosh, where are my keys??" I immediately and frantically started searching all the places I thought they might be... in my purse, in the back gate lock, mixed in the bags from Walmart, upstairs in my bedroom, even in the fridge! (I learned that trick from my friend Tommy. If you ever don't want to forget something in the fridge, put your keys on top of it.)

I thought, well maybe I accidentally locked them in the car. I looked in all the windows the best I could, but didn't see anything. I came back in and just stood in my kitchen wondering where to look next. Not knowing what else to do, I began to pray. I also texted (is that a word?) some friends to have them pray as well. (Thanks: KP, CP, and JP) I also called my Boss who took the news surprisingly well and my Mom to see if she had a spare house/car key.

My Mom volunteered to drive 40 minutes out of her way to come help me search for them. While she was making her way here, I started to clean and straighten up my house. It wasn't exactly dirty to speak of, but it definitely wasn't in order. Ironically, last night I said to myself, "Self, you need to take some time to tidy up a bit." Little did I know, a mere 10 hours later I'd be doing that very thing.

It's my belief that God set in motion certain events, starting with the neighbor kids who distracted me when I got home from Walmart last night; asking me a million questions, including but not limited to, "Why are you never home?". Actually, for some strange reason, I put my groceries in my back seat; something I never do. And, I always hang my keys on their hook as soon as I walk in the door, but I had to race upstairs to turn my alarm off. All these abnormalities led to my lost keys. However, I think God just wanted me to clean my house!!

Seriously! He has a sense of humor and has always used real world applications to teach me lessons. Oh, I should mention, yesterday's sermon was on worry. :) I calmly sat down in my chair closed my eyes and said, "Lord, I'm not worried. I'm just a little stressed out that I'm late for work. You know where my keys are, would you please let me know too?" I sat in silence for a while and didn't hear anything. I methodically started organizing/straightening/cleaning each room with the intent to find my keys. Alas, they were no where to be found.

I went back out to the car and checked in all the windows again. Nothing.

So, I started cleaning the kitchen, all the while just talking to God about what's going on in my life right now. Asking for wisdom for this and that. Thanking Him for all His many blessings in my life. I made the conscious effort to surrender my stress over to Him, as it wouldn't help my anyway. Yesterday, my Pastor said there are 7,000 different promises of God where He takes care of us. I knew He knew where my keys were and eventually they'd show up.

About that time, my Mom arrived. The first place she checked was my car. I didn't see her get in, only that she had arrived and was in the back seat of my car. She got out and held my keys above her head like she'd scored the winning touchdown (not that I know anything about football)! I pumped my fists above my head and said, "Praise the Lord!"

Come to find out, my keys were in the backseat of my UNLOCKED car!! It didn't even occur to me to check to see if my car was locked when I looked through the windows like five times! I'm such a dolt! Yay Mom for finding the missing keys!!

The moral of this little adventure is two fold. One, don't worry. It doesn't help anything. God's in control and regardless of the outcome, He knows what's best. Two, never ever ever shut your car door without your keys in hand!!