Lost.

     One word that would describe my first day back to school would be, LONG. This morning feels like it was ten years ago. I am so incredibly exhausted. I didn't die, so that's good. Today was pretty okay. It was better than I thought it would be.

        Walking down the hallways, all day, I saw people who just looked lost. Not just the occasional Freshman with their head in their schedule looking for a room number, but people I see everyday. Some were lost in themselves. All they were concerned about was how they looked, who was looking, how awesome their first day of school outfit was, among many other things. They could barely look up long enough from their mirrors or their phones to see the things in life that truly matter.

      Others were lost in the world's expectations. They feel like they have to live up to this image, or they don't matter. They feel like they have to be someone that others feel is worthy of friendship. They don't act like themselves because they feel like they aren't good enough. They want to win the affections of the people around them, when in reality, they are enough.

     Some were lost in the shuffle. They walk down the hallway looking at the floor. They feel beaten down. They feel as if nobody notices them. They feel invisible. They are sad because they are all alone, with no one to go to. No one to confide in. They have no one to love them for them. They are just lost in the shuffle of life. Thrown in and forgotten about.

     I think we have all been lost at one point in our lives. We may not have even noticed how lost we were. We just think that we are living life. Some of us have been so lost that we don't think that we can bear it anymore and just quit. We think, "Nobody cares. So why bother?" But quitting just buries us in our lostness. It keeps us from ever being FOUND.

For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. (Luke 19:10)

           Even when we feel alone and lost in this crazy world, we can trust God to find us. We are his beloved children and he wants us. He has CHOSEN us. No matter how lost we get, he will always find us. No matter what.

I will give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:28)