Being reunited

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours 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
I have a very compact usb drive that is small enough to fit on my key ring without creating much extra bulk. I got it at a conference overseas about two years ago and have used it pretty much ever since. It’s just so handy and can fit a lot of data on it.
Earlier this year, I lost it somewhere at home. I had been showing photos of an overseas trip to my family, and somehow I had taken it out of the TV but not put it back on the key ring straight away. I searched high and low for it for several hours, racking my brain trying to think where it might have gone. I checked all around and under the TV, in the washing machine, everywhere I could possibly think it might be. But I didn’t find it, so eventually I stopped looking. I still hoped that it would turn up, but that hope was waning.
But then, several months later, I put on a jacket, put my hand in the pocket, and found it! It was a piece of clothing that I don’t wear too often, but I must have been wearing it that night and put the usb stick in the pocket to keep it safe. Although it is just a collection of plastic and metal, I had such a great sense of relief and a feeling of joy at being ‘reunited’ with it. That experience really brought this passage to light for me. If finding this inanimate object produces such joy, how much more joy must God feel about sinners being reunited with Him!