Get Lost. Er...I mean...Found.

When we were growing up, my sister had several skills that I didn't possess.

She was quick and agile...like a ninja. Once, she stabbed me in the leg with a pencil before I could say, "Number Two".

She could make quick decisions. "I don't want to play your game. Let's play Barbies."

And she was also quick at getting lost.

She got lost in the mall one time. She was supposed to stay with me...but she got bored and wandered off. I think we were in a bookstore...or was it a shoe store? I can spend hours in either place...just enjoying the smell of new books and new shoes...so please forgive me. My memory's a little fuzzy here...because all I can really recall now is my panicked Mom when she realized Jill was missing. At one point, only dogs could hear her frenzied rant.

What's that? Oh, we found her. She was fine. Looking at clothes in Lerner's, I think.

And another time she got lost was in the cornfield next to our house. We would play hide and seek in the corn...and go in a couple of rows or so...and then run out of the corn. Only I think she must've gotten turned around and ran farther into the corn than I did.

Or I might've convinced her it was a good idea. I mean, c'mon...that pencil stabbing hurt! And I don't even have to tell you how unhappy I was with her Barbie decision.

What's that? Oh, my Dad found her that time.

Again Jill came back. She'd been lost. And then found.

Recently, Jill got a new car. And it's got a navigational system built into it.

My guess is that she'll never get lost again.

Well...as long as she's driving in her car.

Speaking of driving in a car, I got lost once while driving home from college with a boyfriend of mine. Who had a very poor sense of direction.

Or was it simply a very carefully plotted plan to spend more than 45 minutes with me? Hm....or perhaps he was a huge Gilligan's Island fan...because that relatively short drive home quickly became a three hour tour.

A Three. Hour. Tour.

Now I'm not going to say that the weather started getting rough, but when we finally got home...his Dad was not happy. You see, this was many...many...years ago. Before cell phones were in the hands of teens...and waaaaayyyyy before GPS.

Of course, a simple roadmap might've helped...but Tim didn't seem to possess one of those. You know, now that I think about it, I don't know why I even went out with him in the first place!

But I'm getting off track.

And 'getting off track' is exactly what I wanted to talk about!

It's as simple as turning left instead of right. Of walking into the store next door...or the next corn row.

It doesn't take much.

It doesn't take long, either. Before we're driving/walking/running in circles...

desperately wanting someone to help us get back...or stubbornly believing in our own power to find our way.

Sometimes it seems very overwhelming. We can lose hope...we can worry...we can project that things will never be the way that they were! We'll never find our way out! WE'LL BE STUCK HERE IN FINDLAY FOREVER, TIM! TURN THE CAR AROUND AND JUST GO BACK! WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? WE'RE GONNA BE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE! WHEN WE GET HOME...IF THAT EVER HAPPENS...I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU AND DATING YOUR BROTHER! DO YOU HEAR ME!

Sorry...off track again.

Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Think of what you've lost recently. Has time gotten away from you? Is there a project you've been putting off? Perhaps you've overspent this month...and your budget's out of whack. Maybe you've not been exercising...or overeating...or both! Maybe you haven't called that person you've been meaning to call.

Whatever you've lost...take a moment now and think about it.

Maybe you hadn't even realized how far off you'd gotten. Maybe it's just one step.

And now think about this...

the best part of getting lost? Is being found.