Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her (Luke 1:38 NLT).

I love the statement, “I am the Lord’s servant.” How often do we say that? For that matter, how often do we thank God for his gifts to us? The gift of life. Of warmth and comfort? So many things.

During this advent season, we are reading through the devotional, The Wonder of Advent, by Chris Tegreen. Each day, lyrics from long unsung Christmas Carols are included. Below applies to Joseph, Mary’s fiancé. Imagine his dismay upon hearing of Mary’s condition:

Fear not, just Joseph, this thy wife

is still a spotless maid;

and no consent to sin, quoth he,

against her can be laid. “When Righteous Joseph Wedded Was,” Medieval English Carol

I have a great story to share with you…..it’s about giving thanks and rejoicing!

A couple of weeks ago now, I found something I’d been searching for nearly two years…

I lost a ring. It was costly, but more than that, it had sentimental value.

After my husband Bill died, I wore my wedding ring for a few months, and then I took it off, and wore our two rings together on a chain around my neck. Wearing them was a comfort for a time, but then it came to be a reminder of what I didn’t have and I put them away in a safe place…

Two years later I married Blair. Most of you know my story that after only 17 months, Blair died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. In the course of time, I stopped wearing the wedding ring Blair had given me.

Both times, it wasn’t easy to take off the ring. But when I did, it felt like the right thing to do.

The two rings rested in a dark safety deposit box for more than a year. It seemed like such a waste to keep them out of sight so I had a jeweler design them into one ring symbolizing each covenant made with two cherished husbands. I added my children’s birthstones to the setting and it turned out to be beautiful ring. My memory ring.

Time passed. One of the birthstones fell out and I placed the ring in a jewelry dish on my dresser, meaning to take it to the jeweler and have the stone replaced. For safety, I tucked it into a sock in the back of my sock drawer. I’ll remember where I put it, I thought. There it stayed for two years.

Then Covid hit and the lock down, which meant more time to sort and clean closets and drawers. I noticed my memory ring wasn’t in the jewelry dish and began frantically searching for it. I sorted through each drawer in my bedroom. Moved furniture. Searched through empty purses. I looked everywhere. Then looked again.

I asked my prayer warrior girlfriends to pray. I prayed. Jim and I prayed. Every time I dusted the dresser I asked God to help me find the ring.

We’d put a claim with the insurance company on the ring, for it had been two years missing after all. Next, we met with a jeweler to design a new ring with the same size diamonds and birthstone gems. And though they wouldn’t be the original diamonds, it seemed the best option.

A few days later, I put on some sparkly silver holiday socks–it was December 1st. When I put my left foot in the shoe, I felt something lumpy and bumpy. Sure enough, tucked in the toe of the sock was the memory ring! I was giddy with excitement and called my daughter, my sister, and of course I ran to tell Jim, who was busy in the garage.

What did I learn from that experience? First of all, I learned not to trust my memory about my “special” hiding place. Next time I’ll write it down somewhere. I also realized once again, that prayer is important and God hears every one of them. He answers but not always in the time we think it should happen. Sometimes as in my case it was “wait.”

We returned the money to the insurance company.

Soon, I will be wearing a sparkly new memory ring. It will remind me of my two sweet husbands who loved me and wanted me to have glitter on my finger symbolizing that we belonged together. And the original diamonds will be in the setting.

One day, I will pass that memory ring on to my daughter. She can wear it as it is or design in another setting. The ring will remind her of precious memories. Three of the stones represent people in heaven who are waiting to greet Erika (her father Bill, Blair, and sister Carrie) one day.

How about you? Do you believe God answers prayer? Do you believe He cares about the little things?

I pray you rejoice with me as I praise God for finding that lost “coin.” I can’t wait to see my new memory ring. What was lost is now found.

And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin [ring]’ (Luke 15:9 NLT).

Rejoice with me!

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