You may know that my family recently moved from Missouri to Florida.

With a family of seven, that’s a big move. And, inevitably, some things got lost in the transfer.

One such item was the bag of hardwear for the baby crib. A good friend of ours, Patrick, helped me take apart the crib a dew days before our moving day. We moved the pieces to our storage unit, and out of the house. In the process, I intentionally put the bag of bolts in my car and left them there so I’d be able to put my hands on them right away when we got to our new house.

It took me two weeks to find them.

I searched my car. Multiple times. I emptied the console. Searched under the seats. I even started digging through the stacks of boxes in the garage that have yet to be unpacked.

I stressed. I complained. I vented. Sometimes loudly.

No bolts.

I looked everywhere, and most places more than once.

Somehow, in this process, I discovered that my focus was misplaced. I needed to reevaluate my mindset a bit, like Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2:

When our mind is set on things above, our perspective tends to be more clear. We can see the bigger picture more easily.

But when our minds are set on earthly things, we start to lose ourselves in a whirlwind of confusion, anxiety, and distraction.

I’m not saying that when I calmed down my search and reevaluated my priorities, God led me to that which was lost. But I am saying that he could have.

I’m not saying that God stirred my mind and heart to seek first him and his kingdom. But I am saying that sounds like something he would do.

And so I calmed my spirit, focused more on things above.

And a couple of days later, I found those bolts.

They were in the glove compartment of my car. Right where I put them when Patrick and I took the crib apart that day.

How do you keep your mind set on things above? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.