THE  HAPPINESS  OF  BEING  FOUND!
-James W. Moore.

From the book, "Yes, Lord I Have Sinned,
But I Have Some Excellent Excuses." 

         When I was seven, I got lost at Ringling Brothers' Circus. More than  twenty thousand people were there that night.  My older brother Bob, who was nine, had taken me by the hand down one of the exit ramps from the arena to the crowded concession stand to get some cotton candy.  There were no neat lines.  People were pushing and pressing toward the counter, trying to get the vendor's attention.  Since my brother was taller, the cotton-candy man saw him and served him first; Bob then stepped to the side to wait for me. 

         At least, he meant to wait for me. But just then  loud laughter came from the arena, followed by thunderous applause and fireworks.  The ringmaster's voice exploded over the public address system, introducing the clowns, the main act we wanted to see.  My brother didn't mean to leave me, but the excitement was just too much for him, and he ran back up the ramp to catch a glimpse of the clowns. He meant to wait for me there, but a policeman told him he couldn't stand there and asked to see his ticket stub. When Bob fished into his pocket, he came up with two ticket stubs-his and mine, so the policeman promptly escorted him to his seat.

          By this time, I had my cotton candy, and I looked toward the spot where my brother had been standing only moments before.  But now he was gone, and I felt sick deep down in the pit of my stomach. I was scared to death!  I was all alone in that huge crowd! I didn't know which ramp to go up; I didn't know which section our seats were in. All the ramps and entrances looked the same.  I couldn't find my ticket stub, and to top it off, I had lost my appetite for cotton candy.  Terrified now, I went up the wrong ramp, and when I entered the huge auditorium, I turned the wrong way! Nothing looked familiar.  I wondered if I would ever see my family again. I started to run, trying (not too successfully) to fight back the tears. Panic-stricken, I looked frantically for a familiar sign or a friendly face, but all eyes were riveted on the clowns in the center of the arena. Everyone was laughing loudly at the antics of the clowns. They weren't funny to me at that moment. I remember thinking, "How can they laugh at a time like this? How can they laugh when I feel so lost?" 

            Just then I felt a touch on my shoulder.  I turned around, to be gathered up into strong loving arms.  It was my dad.  My father had come after me and had found me.  It was a good thing he did, because I was running as fast as my tired, scared legs would carry me-in the wrong direction.  He held me, calmed me down, reassured me, then took me downstairs and bought me a Coke, a hot dog, a Yo-Yo, a lizard, a little stuffed bear, and a candy apple.  I learned a valuable lesson that day: 
                  Being lost is terrible, but being found is wonderful! 

           Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now I'm found Was blind but now I see 
           "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,
            in all the ways you can, in every place you can,
            at all the times you can, to everyone you can, 
            as long as you ever can - do all the good you can". 
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. -Colossians 3:17.