Dear CCPC Family,

"...and His mother said to Him,
Child, why have You treated us like this?
Look, Your father and I have been searching for You in great anxiety."
Luke 2:48b

In 1986, I couldn't find my daughter Emily. We were shopping with my mother at the "new" West End Market Place. It was a busy Saturday and the place was so packed with people, you would've thought it was the day after Christmas! After shopping on the first two floors, our next destination was the third floor. We pushed our way through to the escalator, our arms full of packages. My mother thought I was holding Emily's hand and I thought my mother was holding Emily's hand. When we stepped off the escalator at the third floor, no Emily. We looked at each other, our eyes grew wide with the realization.

If you've never misplaced a child, I can't describe to you the way you feel. If you've been there, you know what I mean: PANIC. That mama-bear-protect-the-baby-cub instinct washes over you and you get tunnel vision: "Must find child." Thinking Emily would be where I had last seen her, I was off like a sprinter out of the starting blocks toward the going-down side of the escalator, my mother not far behind. You should have seen me, I was a woman on a mission! People were literally jumping out of my way! As I reached the floor below, I scanned the crowd for my little four-year-old. Prayers were churning fast in my mind and on my lips. "Please, God! Please, God!"

It took about ten minutes to find her (seemed more like ten hours). The whole time I was looking for her I kept imagining her all alone, frightened, crying and close to hysteria. To my surprise, there she was standing quietly at a storefront window. With joy and wonder she was watching a toy train ride around and around and around on its tracks, oblivious to everything else. I felt my body sag with relief then fill with anger because SHE had let go of my hand ...or my mother's hand (I know, I know. I was being irrational). I wanted to hug her/never let her go and at the same time chastise her for "getting lost." When I finally reached her, Emily looked up at me with bright eyes and said, "Look, Mommy, a train!"

Read Luke 2:41-52. It always has a way of making me smile. It's the story of Jesus getting "lost" and His parents having to search for Him. Jesus caused His parents "great anxiety." Jesus was a child!

This story of young Jesus reminds me of how important it is to keep an open perspective for the many wonderful ways God is up to new things in our lives! Jesus surprised his parents by being in the temple. And Jesus will likely surprise you too this New Year! Look for Him. Keep your eyes open to the wonders and works of His miraculous love!

Jan Cook
Communications