Lost and Found

With the Polar Vortex's little brother bearing down on the city of Chicago I sought refuge on an upholstered bench that was getting hit by direct sunlight through some very large plate glass windows at the world's busiest airport - Chicago O'Hare.
Paying attention only to my task at hand, an airport worker walked by the end of my bench, leaned over picked up a book that was abandoned on the floor, looked at it the title and quickly tossed it down on the bench. My eyes quickly drifted over to the title of the book which read, "Priesthood, Pastors, Bishops." My first thought was, "With a title like that, no wonder the book has been thrown to the side!"
But, upon further review, my second thought was, "This book is right up my alley." I crawled on the bench to pick up the book and began flipping through the pages. In the middle of the book was a boarding pass with the name Dinah Dutta on it. She had flown from Kansas City to Chicago. She had sat in first class in seat 3C.
I decided to do a little research. I looked her up on Facebook and voila, there she was. She's the pastor at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Atchison, Kansas. I made the decision to put the book in my backpack and when I got home to Dubuque, Iowa I would mail the book to her.

A couple of hours later I was on my way home after being in the Sunshine state of Florida for the previous week. That was Monday.

In the late afternoon on Tuesday I conducted some more research. I called St. Mark's Lutheran Church only to find a "full" voicemail inbox with no room to leave a message. I checked LinkedIn and discovered that Dinah also served a Lutheran church in Valley Falls, Kansas. I called the church,, only to get another answering machine. There was no need to leave a voicemail this time as the lady's voice on the answering machine offered Dinah's cell phone number.

I quickly made the call to Dinah's cell phone. The third effort was met with another voicemail inbox. Dinah is of Indian descent and her accent was beautiful to hear on the recording. I left a detailed message telling her that I had her book and would be happy to send it to her home.

One minute after hanging up my phone rang.
The called id simply said, "Dutta, Dinah."
I answered the call, "Hello Dinah Dutta!"

My iWitness...

The joy in her voice was more than apparent. She had been looking for the book. She knew she had it in her hand in the Chicago airport and upon arriving at her set destination it was nowhere to be found.

We chatted for a few minutes and I told her that I would be happy to mail it to her.
I inquired, "Where would you like for me to mail it to?"
She replied, "Well, I am at Wartburg Seminary right now."
My jaw hit the top of my desk, "Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa?"
She said, "Yes."
"I am in Dubuque!", I almost shouted.
We both laughed at the impossibility of such a happening.

She told me that she had a break in her class schedule at noon.
"I'll meet you in the chapel at noon on Wednesday", my voice filled with anticipation.

I had one more question...
"Dinah, were you on the 3:30 flight to Dubuque yesterday?"
"Yes" was her quick reply.
My voice almost trumped over her response, "So was I!!!"

The book that was lost was a lot closer than she or I knew...
I wonder how many times in life that I have felt lost I was a lot closer to being found than I thought or knew.

On Wednesday, at noon, in the chapel, the book was reunited with its proud owner.
A new friendship was forged over soup and salad.
And the joy...the joy of having found that which was lost was celebrated!

Perhaps today you will have the chance to restore, return or reunite something or someone who was once lost but is now found.

It is indeed one of life's greatest joys.
Just ask Jesus...He knows better than any of us...

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

So he (Jesus) told them this parable: ⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ ⁷ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15. 3-7)