Lost

Claudette

Lost
     A few years ago I wanted to get in touch with my Aunt Claudette.  One slight problem, no one knew where she lived, or how to contact her.  My brother had tried with no success several years before. If you knew my brother, he was a great investigator but could not get past the last home she lived in.  The neighbors said she moved with no forwarding address.
     I just couldn't get her off my mind day after day.  I mentioned it to my husband and he said " It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, too many things against you....she is single (anyway she was years ago), last name of Taylor was way too common,  last location was California, way to populated, probably has a cell phone that is not listed, she could be remarried with a different last name. What if she moved to another state, perhaps moved back to Georgia where she lived as a a child.
    It didn't look promising yet I had to give it a try.  I really felt prompted to find her.  So I made it a matter of prayer and tried not to think of all the reasons it wouldn't work. We did a search with names only in her approximate age category. We did a search in California of all the people with her first name, then tried a search with the first letter on her first name along with the last name Taylor.  I also thought I would look for the names of her to son's in that California since there name would be the same. I would do 10 a day and when they were unlisted numbers I would send out a dozen pre-written letters a day to at least say "I tried".
      I decided the only way I would be free of the nagging feeling to find her was to do something.  I started a list and started calling.  Many numbers had answering machines so I left a clear concise message as to who I was looking for and said don't bother to call back unless they had a connection.
     First day I left more messages than anything else.  I did my quota and was planning on sending out letters that evening.  When I came home that evening there was a message on my phone machine and said "Yes Rebecca, I am the person you are looking for.  I could not believe my good fortune, rather blessing.  I compared my notes and it was the very first person I had left a message to.  I called her and we made a great connection.  We have been corresponding ever since.  Was this a miracle or merely a coincidence?  I believe it was a miracle.

Doing easily what others find difficult is talent; doing what is impossible for talent is genius.

I am the little girl sitting on my Dad's knee,  Claudette is standing at the top, my Mom
is holding baby Scott, brother Stephen to the right.