The Tale of the Missing Diamond--By Linda Kozar

At lunch with a friend a couple of weeks ago, my right hand brushed against my left. Something felt odd--different. I looked down and the pear-shaped diamond was missing from my wedding ring! Six prongs stuck out like spider's legs--an empty setting.

I told my friend and she panicked. She started looking all around the table and retracing our steps. But not me. Weird! I had a strange feeling--peaceful and not at all concerned, which is NOT like me at all. 

We left the restaurant and of course I called the manager to leave my name and number in the event  some honest soul turned in a stray diamond. And he freaked out as well.

But not me.

It gets better. When I came home, I didn't tell my daughter right away. I told her a half hour later and she went ballistic. She started tearing up the house looking for the thing. I joined her, of course. We searched and searched but turned up zilch. Still, I had that uncharacteristic bubble of peace about me--a supernatural reassurance that God would come through.

I prayed and prayed for God to show me where the diamond was. I'd been all over our town that day doing errands. The stone could be anywhere. The odds were against me ever seeing it again. Finding that stone would be like finding a needle in a haystack--a very large, super-sized  haystack. But if the diamond was somehow still in the house, I knew the Lord would help me find it. 

Three days passed. My friend Dannelle was in the neighborhood and dropped by to help me look. We turned the house inside out, looking absolutely everywhere, even the most unlikely places. But no diamond. She left.

The dull side of the ring looked like a crumb  on the floor.

Shortly after my friend went home, my peace gave way to frustration. I decided to ask God again, but this time, my attitude was different. "Lord, I know my little ring doesn't mean much in the eternal scheme of things, but it means something to me, and I ask you to show me where the missing diamond is if it's okay with you--in the blessed name of Jesus."

I sighed, made a sandwich and sat down at the kitchen table to eat my lunch. But as I took my first bite, I looked down at the floor and noticed a large crumb. When I reached down to pick it up I noticed a curious sparkle and flipped it over. My ring! 

I jumped up and down, tears in my eyes and thanked my Heavenly Father! What a tender-hearted Daddy! Overcome with emotion, I started calling and messaging everyone who had helped me look. Then I took these pictures and posted on FaceBook so the friends who'd prayed for me would know.

When I flipped the ring over, the diamond sparkled!

But something puzzled me. How could one side of the ring be so dull? After close examination, I  noticed the dull side was dull because the side under the prongs had a soapy buildup. That view of the stone didn't look anything like a diamond! No wonder we had all missed it!

Which made me wonder. How many times do we look at people and see the dull, unpolished side and judge them by that view? We see what looks like a worthless crumb, but God see's a diamond from His perspective. He see's the polished view of us, the end result. 

I am thankful God allowed my diamond to go missing. He knew exactly where it was the entire time--and it was safe as safe can be. He filled my heart with peace and supernatural confidence. And when I totally surrendered my desire to find the diamond to Him, the Lord revealed where it was. I learned some very important things from the miracle He did for me. 

--He is faithful!

--He is worthy of our trust!

--He hears our prayers and answers them!

From this point on, I will look for the sparkle in people and I hope you do too.

~ ~ ~

Linda Kozar is the co-author of Babes With A Beatitude—Devotions For Smart, Savvy Women of Faith (Hardcover/Ebook, Howard/Simon & Schuster 2009) and author of Misfortune Cookies (Print, Barbour Publishing 2008), Misfortune Cookies, A Tisket, A Casket, and Dead As A Doornail, (“When The Fat Ladies Sing Series,” eBooks, Spyglass Lane Mysteries, 2012). Strands of Fate released October 2012 (Hardcover/Ebook, Creative Woman Mysteries) and her nonfiction title, Moving Tales, Adventures in Relocation, released in 2013 (Indie-Published). She received the ACFW Mentor of the Year Award in 2007, founded and served as president of Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas ACFW chapter for three years. In 2003, she co-founded, co-directed and later served as Southwest Texas Director of Words For The Journey Christian Writers Guild.

In addition to writing Linda is Lead Host of the Gate Beautiful Radio Show, part of the Red River Network on Blog Talk Radio—interviewing Christian authors from Debut to Bestselling, airing the 3^rd Thursday of every month. She and her husband Michael, married 24 years, have two lovely daughters, Katie and Lauren and a Rat Terrier princess named Patches.

Represented by: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Agency

Member of: CAN (Christian Authors Network), RWA (Romance Writers of American), WHRWA (West Houston Romance Writers of America), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), Writers On The Storm, The Woodlands, Texas Chapter of ACFW, Toastmasters (Area 56) The Woodlands, Texas, The Woodlands Church, The Woodlands, TX