Locked Out

Dan and I went for a romp with the pups in the school field by our house tonight, in the dark. Without a flashlight. Which was fine, until we got back home and discovered we'd dropped the keys. In the dark. In a big field. Without a flashlight.

So we went back, armed with Dan's cell phone (mine was locked in the house) and a carefully planned grid search (we watch a lot of CSI). We searched and searched, I turned up a lot of bright leaves thinking they were keys, and we were getting pretty discouraged. Our grid search had been abandoned. I decided to go to the neighbors and see if they had a good, bright flashlight. Dan stayed and continued looking.

And as I was about halfway home, I heard a soft jingle in the distance behind me. I turned around and Dan was walking toward me with Peanut, whose whining had been the cause of Dan's finding the keys. She was wet from the freshly sprinkled grass, cold, and getting upset that I had left. And as he turned around to check on her, he saw the gleam of something sticking up in the grass. One key, standing up straight as a beacon. Angled perfectly for the light from the school to hit it.

I'd been praying as we searched, that we would find the key. And I knew that if worse came to worse, we could call our friend with the spare key to come rescue us, and resume our search in the daylight. And I knew that if our friend was unavailable, we could find someone who would take us (and the pups) in for the night. Thankfully, God answered my prayer and we didn't have to resort to back-up plans.

But I think about how there are so many people without homes. Without keys to lose. Without a back-up plan of where to spend the night. And I am so grateful that God helped us find our keys, but even more than that - that God has given us a home to have keys to.