Have you ever wondered where yesterday went, or even the last few minutes?  How about last year, or last decade?  What has happened to the times you shared with people you knew?    Where did they go?  Is there a special place where memories are kept alive?  Is anyone lost to you or someone you miss, truly gone at all?

As a MuSinGer, this is definitely something I have done and wondered about.  I think if we were all honest, we would say that we especially reflect upon this at Christmas and as the old year ends, don’t we? 

Time is always moving forward.  Nothing stays the same.  You realise this when sitting in a silent room with a ticking clock (or several ticking clocks in my case), with the constant tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock counting our lives away.  Just before midnight strikes on New Year’s Eve, we see out the minutes and seconds of the old year until the dawn of the new one begins.  Then here we are, already leaping into March 2019, and it was not that long ago when the fireworks were bursting to life in our skies. 

While we try to live in the present as much as possible, these very moments are sliding past us.  The first paragraph of this post is now history to us, and our eyes are viewing these words in another moment in time and space.  Is that a scary thought or a delightful one?  If we look at things this way, we realise that we really do not have control over time or anything at all.  We can only make the best of what we do in this very second, for it too will slip away sooner than we blink.

Does this make us lose hope?  Not at all!  In fact, reflecting on time and where things go in history is a wonderful thing to do.  It allows us to see where we have been and what we have done, to appreciate the gifts and miracles, treasure people, and allow the wisdom we have hopefully gained from our past experiences to inform a better present, and future.

One of my favourite new songs is from the movie Mary Poppins Returns, called “The Place Where Lost Things Go” beautifully sung by Emily Blunt (Mary Poppins).  It recounts the importance of realising that nothing good, and no one who is now absent from our lives, is ever truly lost to us.  They have gone to a special place in our hearts.  Their imprint on our lives has shaped us and made us who we are today.

We can cry at the memory of a loved one who is gone, or indeed a phase or period of time in our lives, and it is important to give ourselves that time to grieve.  But time is the great healer, and when we are ready we can think of them and bring them back to life.  We can remember someone’s smile, the sound of their voice, the colour of their eyes and hair, the perfume they wore, and be silent in their presence again.  One day, the Lord promises that we will see each other face to face, and death, loss, separation, and grief will no longer matter.

Whether you are longing for the face of a person who is dear to you, perhaps a relative or a friend, or someone you love who has turned from you in some way, know that “nothing’s gone forever, only out of place”.  God knows where they are, and why these things have happened to you. 

While this beautiful song does not refer to ‘the place’ as being a physical realm, I believe that the key to this mystery is with the Lord.  The place where the lost things go is with God.  We need to trust Him with everything, because nothing is a secret to Him or ever truly lost. 

As you listen to this song, close your eyes and know that the people and things we miss are resting in the palm of His hand, and there is no better place for them to be.  

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