lost--not the show

I started thinking about the word lost.
And all the many dozen contexts in which we use that word.
'pray for the lost.'
'I'm at a loss.'
'I lost a loved one.'
'I'm lost in the middle of nowhere.'

When it comes right down to it, I guess there are really several ways to react to getting lost.
One is to panic. Yeah, I'm definitly more a panicker.
Another is to abandon yourself to lostness.
To allow the fact that you've misplaced yourself change the way you experience the world.
Then there are those that just pick up their life and get found.

So how do we connect all these different meanings for one term to life?
We like the analogy of the nonChristian being lost in the middle of nowhere.
Makes our physical minds more comfortable with the image, I suppose.
You know, wandering through life. Searching and seeking.

It's easier for me to grasp in metaphor mode.
I guess I've been watching too much House, lately.

You ever had that moment at the end of a meal, where you haven't taken the time to drink?
I do it everytime. And so does my 3-year old niece.
We wait until our plate is finished, then pick up our cup and chug the entire thing.
You know, one of those out of breath, head rush kind of chugs.
And the thing of it it, here you sat with this glass of refreshing, cool water before you the entire time, and you didn't even know you were thirsty.
You didn't even know.

Maybe that's what being lost is like.
I can't be for certain.
I've never really experienced it.
But maybe it's like God is the cool drink of water,
and when you finally get to him, you can't get enough.
And the funny thing is, you didn't even know how thirsty you were.
And maybe--
maybe that's not the funny thing at all.
Maybe that's the tragic thing.

that is all.