Lost and Found - Lawrence

My cousin Thelma and her husband Denys came back into my life a few years ago when they were visiting the U.S.A  and Canada on one of their many golden year extended trips. They were staying at Niagara Falls, Canada for a few days and I went to meet up with them for a day's visit.

It was a cold blustery day in September, but despite the weather we had a good visit catching up with the lost years that time and situations had imposed upon us. Really, we had been out of touch since I was a child, except for a brief meeting at an airport in London, England, as I waited for a plane to return to Canada after visiting relatives in Gloucester for a couple of weeks.

Since getting involved in my genealogy I had been in touch with Thelma and Denys at our annual Christmas card exchange and, a few years ago they asked me if I would collect postage stamps for Denys' collection. This I gladly did and added them to the Christmas card each December. Only recently did I realize that Denys sold these stamps for charity giving the money to a local private hospital that was situated near where they lived.

Cousins Judith and Thelma

I heard from Denys a few weeks ago and sadly learned that Thelma was in poor shape. She is unable to get around without the aid of a wheelchair and is also suffering from dementia, unable to recognize her own husband at times. For a couple who have been married almost 61 years and never been apart for even a day this is heartbreaking. Denys is now the sole caregiver and, when he wrote that letter, was having a time of respite while Thelma went to stay in a nursing home for a couple of weeks.

This long introduction is leading up to the fact that the envelope in which I saved the postage stamps for Denys suddenly was lost. Since learning of their difficulties these stamps had taken on an importance to me beyond any monetary value. They signified something that I could do for them and kept us in touch with one another.

Judith and Denys

This morning, I found that envelope with its stamps, not far from its usual place. How I missed them yesterday I don't know. And now, I say unto you, "Rejoice with me for I have found those stamps which were lost, and now I can rest easy."

Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she find it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, "Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin." In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents. Luke 15: 8-10 New Living Translation


[Please also pray for Dorene Meyer whose day this is to post on this blog. She is unwell at this time and is therefore unable to post a blog today.]