Pursuing the Precious

So there I was, responding to the bladder’s demands after a second large coffee. Between the zip up and the flush, the last housefly of the year punched me in the face. As it returned for another strafing run, I swatted at it with the back of my left hand. My wedding ring, loose because of the weight I’ve lost, shot off my finger, hit the edge of the vanity, ricocheted off the wall in front of me, and plopped into the middle of the open toilet.

I stared at it for a moment in bewilderment, running through several options for retrieval, and wishing my life-long attempts at telekinesis had been more successful. But with Sam Gamgee’s words in mind: “We have to go in there, Mr. Frodo. There’s nothing for it,” I reached into the pool of former Italian roast, and got my ring back.

I know I could have gone to a store to buy rubber gloves or some kind of grabber, or taken more time to come up with a less septic solution. But every second I waited was more time the ring was not where it should be. Visions of someone accidentally flushing it, and some ostentatious sewer rat wearing it as a bracelet kept coming to mind.

So what’s the point of this wee tale? Sometimes it takes the prospect of losing something you take for granted to recognize how precious it is (LOTR reference intended). But once you do, you also realize you can overcome anything to try and get it back.

I pray this coming year is one of recognizing and successfully pursuing what’s truly precious in your life, overcoming all the challenges and obstacles along the way, and recovering everything the enemy has taken from you. But without any dumper diving.

“David asked the Lord, ‘Everyone we love and everything we have has been stolen away. What should I do?’

God answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all’” (1 Samuel 30:8, paraphrase).