We were staying in a hotel in Adeje, South Tenerife for two weeks during a brief tour of concerts in churches and meeting places around the island. Once again, I had contracted a cold before travelling, and was now struggling to retain my voice for the series of speaking and singing events – taking it easy and speaking as little as possible were the only remedy  – so today was down time. We’d just had lunch by the pool and I planned to wash my hair before retiring for a luxurious siesta.

Then, in the process of washing hair over the bath, my earring went down the bath plug. 

A trivial thing that a young man with a plumber’s wrench was dispatched by la recepción to put right. He failed. Tried jolly hard to give him his due but ultimately the result was the same.

Earring lost – irretrievable. One of a pair given to me by my beloved husband and the result was a combination of guilt at my carelessness combined with sorrow for the loss. Not life-changing but, none-the-less, undeniable.

Disappointments like this happen in all of our lives – they aren’t major – but they are inclined to spoil our day to some extent. 

But all the time, as my bathroom drama played out, a little ditty was going through my head, over and over. Alighted on my brain as if from nowhere, a little ear-worm from God. It was the tune that became the refrain for ‘You’.

One small earthly treasure lost, one heavenly treasure gained that became a song of praise and confidence for my loving Father in Heaven.

Penny Lyon

Out of the Ashes