Parable of the Lost Wedding Ring

Getting ready for church last Sunday, I removed my wedding rings and placed them on the bathroom counter. Typically my rings live two places when I am at home - either in my jewelry box or on my finger.

In a break of routine, I adorned my bling before I had a chance to fix my hair. Not wanting to get gel in the crevices, I placed the set on granite and went about my business.


What happened next played out in slow motion. Something (the hand towel?) hit the rings with a bit of unexpected force. The rings skidded off the edge of the counter - the engagement ring hit the tile floor. My wedding band, however, fell directly into the air vent.

I found myself on my hands and knees mumbling out-loud Please God, let me be able to get it back. Please, please, please.

I had grown so accustom to these rings, I had treated them haphazardly. In contrast, I remember sitting on the subway when our engagement was just hours old worried about the safety of the ring. I knew the value was great and I was terrified of being robbed.

That park bench in Central Park seems like ages ago, rather than the 8 years it will be this April. Our passion for finding epic adventures thankfully has remained, but what about the every day? Do I treat our marriage like the incredible sparkly gift that it is? Do I wake up each day wondering what new wifely adventure will await me with my darling?

Sometimes life has us stuck in a ditch covered in mud. But then, I'm mixing metaphors.

So back we go to the HVAC vent, my dirty bathroom floor, and my precious out of sight. I could use flowery words to describe the experience, but I want to cut to the chase. Everything I did from the moment I heard the clank to the moment I put the ring back on my finger can be used in relationship redemption.

1. Recognized I'd lost something precious.
2. Fall on my knees - crying out to God
3. Delicately taking small, precise steps to bring me closer to restoration
4. Finally putting my hands around that which I had lost
5. Putting it back where it belonged
6. Thank God for His mercy

 When I finally laid hands on my ring, it was right on the edge a breath away from the abyss. I'm not sure what I would have done had it traveled just a few more centimeters. God forbid my marriage ever become so common place I ever run the risk of getting that close to losing it.