It happened again just yesterday; another one went missing.

Before you think the worst scenario, I’m not talking about some child abduction or any kind of kidnapping attempt. 

However, it surprises me how many times in a year that emergency system on our phones goes off to let us know that a child has been taken. It should never happen and it is always concerning when that message is broadcast.

But there are other things that go missing in our lives, some of them regularly. Fortunately most of the things that go missing are found. Like how many times do your keys go missing, even for a few minutes? 

Sometimes my reading glasses have gone missing. I’ve checked my pockets, my night stand and the last place I remembered using them, only to realize that they were on my head. 

The glasses were never really missing. It was my sense of feeling and awareness that went missing on those occasions. 

When you think about it, there are a lot of things that go missing every day. Whether it’s a piece of paper, your wallet, a nut or bolt, glasses, even your coat, anything can go missing, can’t it? 

One time, I had a hockey game but was feeling sick. My parents told me they didn’t want me to play, but I didn’t listen and went anyway. 

I put on my equipment and when I went to put on my skates, one was missing – just one skate. It turned out that my dad had just taken it out of my hockey bag. I didn’t play hockey that night. 

Most of what goes missing is found again, sometimes moments after it disappeared. But some things that go missing are never found again.

It was one of those things that went missing yesterday. 

I have a drawer where I keep all my socks. They are organized mostly by colour, but I have another section that is organized by numbers. That area is for single socks that have no mate. One sock out of a pair has gone missing. 

You might think it strange, but when a sock goes missing it is rarely found … well, at least in my experience. 

I have – based on yesterday’s new acquisition – a total of five single socks in that section of my sock drawer. 

By the very nature of me having a section where I keep these odd socks, you would think that I have hope of one day finding the missing socks. That’s not the case. I have doubles of a lot of my socks so I keep the odd ones in case a matching sock from another pair goes missing. Then I’ll still have a pair.

Socks that go missing don’t get found. I’m convinced the washing machine eats them or the dryer fries them and spits the pieces out through the vent.

All I know is I’m not going to see that sock again. 

Here’s the thing: Some people think that wherever we end up, we will be together and it will be a party. But heaven and hell are very different. Heaven is a place of community with God and others who have placed their faith in Christ. Hell, however, is not a place of community. When someone goes there, they go missing. People in hell will not get to console each other or take comfort in being with others. There will be no sense of togetherness whatsoever in hell. So while you can, be sure you are heading to the place of community where no one will go missing. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is the most common thing to go missing in your life? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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