:: in.a.mirror.dimly :: A theology and culture blog with the Bible in one tab and a news feed in the other.

Like Frodo, Gollum, and a cast of sundry ring wraiths, I went looking for a ring today. Only this ring didn’t make me invisible. No, this was my wedding ring. I have now joined the ranks of gardeners far and wide who have lost jewelry in the garden.

You never know how upset you’ll be about losing a material object until it’s actually missing. I was really upset. Not fuming with anger, just sad–dreading the possibility of going through the rest of my day without the ring on my finger.

Being a cold Spring day with rain in the forecast for later, I spent my morning bundled up, gloves and all, mowing the lawn on our tractor. Our yard easily takes over two hours to mow, and by the time I was done, the sun had warmed things up a bit. Shedding my jacket and heavy gloves, I spent about 20 minutes transplanting some prim roses from their tight spot by the driveway. I wore a thin pair of gardening gloves since the skin on my fingers is irritated by the moisture. I usually have to protect my hands while working outside.

After the transplanting I just needed to water the new rhubarb out back and the three maple trees out front. I took off my gloves and walked around back. Hauling our cheap hose over to the garden, I began watering the rhubarb and noticed that one of the new bulbs was sticking way above the soil line.

Peeling away at some soil in our freshly tilled garden with my bare hands, I deposited a chunk of dirt on the rhubarb and hosed my fingers down. And then I noticed it was missing.

My ring ringer felt eerily exposed, and I noticed that the ring was no where to be found. I crawled around on the ground, pawed at the garden, and peeled away clumps of grass and dirt all to no avail. My stomach rumbled as I crawled around on the wet ground, meticulously working my fingers through the mercifully short grass. I pulled, dug, and strained my eyes. I likened myself to the woman who lost a valuable coin and turned the house upside down in search of it (Luke 15:7-9)

Nothing.

For a boost of morale I went inside for a bite to eat. I soon returned to the yard and retraced my steps. Finding nothing I returned to my hands and knees around the rhubarb.

Still nothing.

And so I began to wonder if it was possible that the ring fell off undetected at another point in the day. Perhaps I had lost it when removing my gloves? With renewed hope I checked my heavy gloves in the garage.

Empty. I even put both of them on just to be sure.

And then I remembered the light gloves I briefly wore out front. I ran over to the flower bed where I left them and slipped the glove on.

GOLD!!! SOLID GOLD!!!

It must have slipped off when I removed my glove and remained put inside it. I had my ring back, that reminder of my marriage, the token given by my wife on our wedding day. I’m so glad I found my ring, but more than that, I’m so happy to be married to my wife.