The past month or so has been a slap in the face to get my life together and get organized. I always find it funny that the first thing people say when walking into my office is “You’re so organized!!” I assure them that this is not the case but they don’t believe me. Well, here’s proof:

Strike 1: Lost my personal debit card. I knew the last place I used it and checked on it frequently to see if anyone else had picked it up, but there was no activity for weeks. Which meant it had to be SOMEWHERE around, right?? That piece of plastic is the only card I use for personal expenses so it was inconvenient not having it around for a long period of time. (On second thought… I’m glad it reduced my spending. Haha.) Important, but replaceable.

Strike 2: The Necklace. My mother’s friend in Malaysia handcrafted this fern shaped necklace, not specifically for me, but once I saw it I had to have it. Soon after losing my debit card I discovered that this pendant had gone missing as well. To my dismay I realized that the outer pockets of my camera bag have flaps that don’t seal shut when you close them… I found the chain in my bag, but no pendant. It was devastating. Replaceable only by going back to Malaysia and telling the artist that I lost it.

Strike 3: A photographer’s worst nightmare. I misplaced a 16 GB memory card with not one, but TWO weddings on it. AND on top of that I had filmed a personal project on that card. I searched everywhere, then checked the same places again… and again… and again. Fortunately the weddings were shot for two other photographers, but still!!! They pay me to take those photos. And I use them for my own portfolio. Given the new knowledge of my unreliable camera bag pockets, the memory card could be ANYWHERE… a restaurant, a shop, on the street… anywhere I might have set down my bag. Irreplaceable.

STRIKE 4: As if three strikes wasn’t enough to have me in panic mode. My mom wakes me up at 6:30 am to tell me that my beloved Chyna is missing. My dad had opened a side door to the backyard to get some fresh air, then closed the door without realizing that our cat had snuck out. She was left outside overnight with no way of getting back into the house and nowhere to be found in the morning.

Let me tell you… I have had Chyna for ten years and I LOVE her. I adore her. She is like my child. My stomach was sick thinking of the wild animals roaming around that could attack her… with a bell around her neck and no survival skills. She is very, very timid. In the ten years that we’ve had her, there has not been a single incident of biting or scratching us. Which is why I could not bear the thought of her going up against a raccoon or coyote. Irreplaceable and exponentially more valuable than a memory card could ever be.

Throughout this series of unfortunate events, I prayed to God. That things would show up, that the photographers would understand, that He would protect my baby while she was lost in the wilderness (we live on a hill so we are surrounded by hills and wildlife). I constantly wondered what He was trying to teach me.. what He wanted to say to me. It was more than just getting organized, though that’s part of my problem.

One by one, weeks and weeks later, the missing items turned up. I found the debit card in a coat pocket. A friend texted me and said that he had found a necklace in his apartment. While cleaning out my closet, I was ECSTATIC to find the memory card underneath a pile of clothes. And after hours of combing through every bush and tree in our neighborhood, we found Chyna.

I believe God was telling me to trust in Him. He’ll take care of the little things… and the big things too. Praise God!!!!