Lost and Found

Ken had lost his glasses. He looked everywhere, in the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom, even on the tool bench in the garage. “They have to be somewhere around here,” he said.
Barbie, his wife, had a look of helpful concern. “Where did you have them last?”
Right, as if that question would help. “I know I was wearing them when I drove home from work. That’s the last I remember.”
“If it was a snake,” Barbie said, sounding a little less helpful, “it would probably bite you.”
“That’s it!” Ken acted as if he had suddenly remembered. “A snake came in, took my glasses, and went off to read a book.”
For three days, Ken searched. He finally went to Walmart and bought an off-the-shelf correction good enough to read by, while he waited on a new pair of prescription glasses to arrive.
The next Sunday before church, he pulled his Bible down from the bookshelf. Clink! Something fell. He looked down, and there were his glasses, on the floor.
The Bible tells the story of Mary and Joseph losing track of Jesus when he was age twelve. For three days, they looked everywhere they thought he might be. After sleepless nights and endless frustration, I’m sure they had given up hope—until they happened to go to the Temple, where Jesus said, “This is the first place you should have looked.”
The first story is based on personal experience. Yes, I now have an extra pair of glasses. The second story? We know that one is true.
What’s the moral to these stories? We’ll always be searching until we find the right place, and the snake isn’t going to be any help.