It’s #FiveMinuteFriday! Loving the word prompt today, HIDDEN. Hope you enjoy my true story of something I thought I had lost. Join others who are writing on the same thing today by clicking here!

Hidden in plain sight.

Have you ever lost something that you thought was gone forever? I have a couple of times. Once, 35 years ago, I lost my engagement ring and wedding band. We searched high and low, you can read the funny, or not so funny story here.

I have moved another eight times since that loss that was never found. In this latest move, my sons were helping us load a truck and go through boxes at the same time (I do not suggest this) and they opened a box that literally brought tears to my eyes. When we sold our home in Missouri, and moved to the country of Latvia in Eastern Europe in 2010, I sold almost every thing I owned to be able to pay, and stay, for the duration of our commitment. From Longaberger to Hoosier cabinets, I parted with treasures. But ever since that move, I could not remember what I had done with our china. I had never seen it again and yet did not remember selling it. Did it get left behind in the old house? That was a possibility because the storage room there was endless and complicated. Regardless, the beloved pattern that I had picked out with The Sweetheart some 40+ years ago, was gone.

So, back to the story…Kris and Korey came upon a box marked fragile and there it was. Every single piece, including the crystal stemware, was in perfect shape, no chips, no cracks, nothing was broken.

Hidden. For years, something that meant so much to me was hidden from me and yet I had probably touched it, brushed by it, stacked other things on it, etc. It was right in the room with me and I never saw it!

I felt a whisper from the Lord about that. Is He so near at times that we could reach out and touch Him but we do not even realize He is in the room? Do we brush by Him, too busy to really dig deep and get to know Him, too careless with other things that we stack on top of Him, pushing Him to the bottom of the heap?

It happens. He is hidden from us and we do not realize it. We are busy, we are rushed, we are sidetracked with LIFE and yet there He is…waiting to be unpacked, to be used, to be glorified in our lives so that we might lift Him higher for others to see!

We aren’t perfect. We stumble, we fall, we get back up again. We strive for perfection but we will not be perfect in this life. Yet, we don’t have to be!

The Christian isn’t supposed to be perfect, he is to point others to the One who is!

As I unwrapped my china, washed it, dried it and put it in a cabinet that was easy to get to, and something I would see every day, I noticed the insignia on the bottom.

Treasure Chest. I had a treasure hidden from me for years, wishing I knew where it was at times, remembering it when special occasions rolled around and wondering if it would ever be a part of my life again. Would I be able to leave this treasure, special to me, for my children or grandchildren?

When Kris and Korey saw the china that had made me tear up they made the comment that not only did they not remember it but they did not remember ever having a meal with it on the table. Yikes. Treasures are not meant to be hidden! I promised the next meal they have at my house will be eaten on china even if it’s Papa John’s. I’m going to use it.

Even more important than 40 year old china is this One we call Jesus, the lover of our souls. Don’t let Him be hidden from you, don’t just bring Him out for special occasions or spend your life wondering if you will ever truly know Him. Take Him out of His box and use Him today. He is waiting to be unwrapped.