10/06/2025
The other day, I drove to a nearby neighborhood for a bike ride. When I got there, I unloaded my bike from the SUV and meant to lock my door, so I stuck my keys inside the gas tank door while I rode.
When I got back, I loaded up my bike, hopped in, and drove home—completely forgetting I’d ever put the keys there.
The next morning, I couldn’t find my keys anywhere. I looked under the seats, in the hatch, on the ground—everywhere. I even drove to my office, parked out front, and left the doors unlocked because I couldn’t lock them without my keys. I remember thinking how much I wanted to lock the door—to keep my car safe—but I couldn’t. I had to trust that it would be okay until I found what was missing.
Forgetting to lock that door ended up teaching me something important later. Sometimes, in life, we want everything to feel “locked up” and secure. We want to control every detail. But when we’ve lost something—peace, direction, or stability—we may have to leave things unlocked for a while and trust the process.
Then it hit me… the day before, I’d put them in the gas tank! I walked out, opened it up—and sure enough, there they were, right where I left them.
I had to laugh, but it got me thinking: how often do we do that in life? We search and search for something we’ve lost—sometimes in all the wrong places. Maybe for you it’s not a set of keys. Maybe it’s peace, hope, joy, or even a relationship that’s been broken or changed.
Grief can make us feel lost, too—like something is missing and we just can’t find our way back. It can make us doubt where to look, or even whether we’ll ever find what we’ve lost again. But sometimes what’s missing isn’t gone forever… it’s just waiting to be found in an unexpected place. Sometimes we have to slow down, pause, and remember that healing takes time, and that even when we can’t see it, hope is still nearby—tucked safely where we left it, waiting to be found again.
If you’ve lost something—someone you love, a sense of calm, or even yourself—know that you don’t have to search alone.
Call 417.553.8000 to set up a counseling appointment.
— Travis Bolin, LPC 🍋
Journey Towards Hope Counseling
