My spiritual journey has been chronicled in journals since I was sixteen years old. I have most of the journals on the bookshelf. They contain the personal and spiritual joys, questions, and heartbreaks I have experienced. I didn’t realize how attached I had become to these journals until I lost one.
On a recent mission trip to Peru I took my journal. I never leave home without it. Though our schedule was grueling, God always woke me in time to spend quality time with Him. The day before we left I finished my time with Him and thought I packed my journal in my checked bags. I had to get something out for a friend and may have taken them off the top, but all I know is that I arrived home without my personal Bible and journal.
I may or may not ever see my journal again. I felt so sad to lose these items. I realized that they contained what was most important about what I have in this life. A friend had her backpack stolen from her on this same trip. She was just returning from the airport so it contained her passport, money, glasses, camera and many key items you need when you are traveling. When I returned home I realized that I had lost something even more valuable than she.
Losing something of great spiritual value is different from losing physical belongings. Unlike my friend's, my loss will not send me standing in long lines for days trying to get my passport replaced and costing me money I didn’t plan to spend. My loss has become a reminder of what I really have and what cannot be taken away from me. My initial reaction to discovering my loss was great sadness and sorrow. But when I thought of it in light of the TRUTH of God, I realized that it is something that cannot be taken away from me. Even if I never receive my journal and Bible in physical form, everything I have written and read in it is still very much with me today.
In Luke 10:41-42 Jesus told Martha, Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. What I have in relationship with Jesus Christ is the thing that Mary chose. It is what can never be taken from me. I'm really grateful I lost my journal as it helped me realized that I can never lose my relationship with Jesus Christ.
Do you understand how valuable your relationship with Jesus Christ is? Do you focus on what is more important? Do you realize that the best in this day is your personal relationship with Jesus Christ? After Jesus told Martha to follow her sister's example, she listened. She found what cannot be taken from her. I'm glad I rediscovered this truth through my loss.
