Paul Poulton talks about how we need to protect whats important in our lives, especially our heart and soul.

Paul Poulton

I don't like saying this to anyone, but sometimes I have to: "Have you seen my phone? I had it twenty minutes ago and now I can't find it."

"Er... try phoning it!"

"I could but it's out of battery that's why I'm looking for it - to put it on charge."

Then someone kindly points out that this is not the first time I have asked if anyone has seen my phone. And astutely adds, "There's something wrong with a person who keeps losing things." And that's why I didn't want to ask in the first place!

Someone recently asked me if I had a pen that they could borrow. "Yes I have," I quickly responded, thinking that I can now show myself to be a person who is always prepared for life's eventualities. I place my hand into my inside pocket to retrieve my pen but the pen could not be felt. "Hang on a minute it must have fallen into the lining of the jacket." I quickly remove my coat and feel all the way through it. I crumple the jacket up in pursuit of the pen, it now looks quite a mess but I MUST FIND THE PEN! Aggh!

The person who asked me for the pen is waiting patiently. Saying things like "It's okay, really." I reply, "No, no I do have a pen, hang on just a sec."

But eventually and reluctantly I dejectedly admit my defeat and say "I'm sorry but I don't have a pen." I lose things, but not me alone, we all misplace items every now and again.

Just two minutes ago I heard my dad exclaiming from the hallway in our house, "I've found it, ha ha, I thought I'd lost it but here it is - my cufflink."

I don't wear cufflinks - if I lost one I'd probably be glad. But my dad likes his cufflinks and now that he's found his lost cufflink he seems quite jolly. A little similar to the lady in the Bible who lost a silver coin, she lit a lamp, swept the house clean until she found the coin. She was overjoyed when she found it and invited her friends round to celebrate.

Yeah, we never miss the water - till the well runs dry: a famous saying, but true.

When I was in my teens I knew a couple of young musicians, who looked to me and all the world that they were going to be excellent musicians, the one prospect was girl pianist and the other was a boy who played guitar. But for some reason, I don't know what, they stopped practising, maybe they got too busy in other areas of their life, who knows? But one thing I do know is that if you don't use it, you lose it. Both of them lost what they had. They had a talent but buried it in the ground.

Little Richard used to sing a song entitled "He Got What He Wanted (But He Lost What He Had)". One of the verses says, "Samson went to get his share, he messed around and lost all his hair. He got what he wanted, but he lost what he had". There are other verses about other people in the Bible all of whom got what they wanted, like Judas, who got 30 pieces of silver, but he lost what he had.

I don't like losing things.

I had a friend. I thought we'd be friends for life, we'd known each other for so long, but we're not really friends now. I'm not one hundred percent sure why. But the friendship's been lost. I'm sorry about it - I don't like losing things, especially friends.

Some people lose their temper. And I suppose a good percentage of people lose their temper now and again. A piece of metal is "tempered" to stop it becoming too hard and brittle. Our temper is given us for the same reason, don't become hard and brittle, don't lose your temper. But some people seem to lose their temper often. "There's something wrong with a person who keeps losing things."

Two young people in love, speak of their undying devotion to each other. Their love is a fruitful garden; they send each other texts, notes and cards laden with affection. They feel so privileged to be with each other, little knowing that gardens need to be cultivated and that what begins as a neat nicely laid out lawn with ornate flowerbeds can end up as a tangled jungle in a few short years! What a mess. Lawns need to be mowed and flower beds need to be weeded and tended. A marriage can be lost.

I don't have any brothers or sisters but I've heard that some family members don't speak to each other. Something happened in the past, and they may not even remember what the original problem was, all they know at this point in time is that no words of communication pass between them. Their original family has been lost.

Losing my phone or pen doesn't seem so bad when I look at all the precious things in life that can be lost. I guess I don't mind losing small things as long as I don't lose the larger valuable aspects of my life. And I'm not talking about material things. My life, my heart and my soul have to be protected. Wasn't it Solomon who said, "Above all else, guard your heart?"

Our souls are precious, we may not even realise exactly how precious they are. Our souls need to be cared for, tended and protected because we can lose them. Pay careful attention to your soul. "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"