As I was getting ready for bed on Thursday, I went to take off my earrings and realized one was missing. The earrings were a telkari pair from Turkey, and I was incredibly disappointed. I had been all over Seoul that day, including a museum 40 mins away. I had no idea when the earring had fallen off.

I messaged a friend whose house I had visited that evening, but she did not find it anywhere. I also emailed the museum in case someone had turned it into the lost and found. David offered that we could look on our street, but it was dark and the earring could have been anywhere.

I knew I shouldn’t have been upset over it; there are people sick and hungry and in danger. But still, I prayed and asked God that He might let me find it.

There was one more place to check. The next morning, I headed toward a neighborhood restaurant we ate dinner at the night before. As I walked, I kept my eyes on the streets, which I knew was a long shot in itself. Though Korea is generally clean, there’s always trash scattered on the roads.

At the restaurant, I plugged my question into Google Translate and showed the lady at the counter, but she shook her head no.

I had resigned to the fact that it was gone.

And then, as I was walking across the street to the grocery store (when I wasn’t even looking anymore) a flash of silver caught my eye. It was an earring hook – MY earring hook! And not too far from from the hook was the other part of the earring! It was broken and scuffed and has been run over and stepped on, but it was mine and I had found it.

On the many, winding streets of Seoul I had traveled the day before, I found my earring. What a gracious gift from Him! The night I lost the earring, I had been a part of a discussion about how we should live our lives with the expectation of gifts from our Heavenly Father. Oh me of little faith. Forgive me of my unbelief!

How much greater God rejoices when I return to Him with all my brokenness, dirtiness, scuffs, and sin.

“And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” –Luke 15:8–10