Lost computer recovered

by Glenn Williams
from The Christian Science Journal, June 2026

I had just started a new job that required me to give presentations around the country, and a new high-quality laptop computer had been delivered to my office. The technician familiarizing me with the laptop had been lecturing me on the importance of due diligence in protecting it while I traveled.

A few months later I went to Los Angeles for work. It was the week of Thanksgiving, so I planned to work for a few days before having my wife join me for a family gathering. On Wednesday, my mom and I drove to the airport and pulled to the curb where my wife was waiting. Before we could leave the airport, I needed to rearrange items in the trunk to fit her luggage, so I took the computer out and put it between the two women while they chatted on the curb. Once the trunk was loaded, we drove an hour to my sister’s home.

Like Elisha’s disciple who borrowed an ax and then lost its iron head in the Jordan River, I was feeling worried and anxious.

After unloading at my sister’s, I was unable to locate the computer and discovered that my wife and mother had not noticed when I had placed it between them at the airport. Either we had left it on the curb or someone had taken it. Panicked, I drove back to the airport with my brother-in-law, praying and sharing spiritual truths on the way.

Like Elisha’s disciple who borrowed an ax and then lost its iron head in the Jordan River, I was feeling worried and anxious. The Bible tells us Elisha asked where it had fallen, then dropped a stick in the water, and the ax head floated to the surface and was easily retrieved (see II Kings 6:1–7).

My brother-in-law shared his insight that the computer was like a fingerprint. It didn’t matter where I might have left it; it was rightfully mine and would remain so. A statement by Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures also helped: “Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds” (p. 1). I was quite calm and confident by the time we arrived back at the airport.

After checking with lost and found and filing a police report with a reluctant officer (who suggested I not hold out any hope of getting the computer back), we rejoined our family with a great expectation of good.

Upon my return to the office on Monday, my boss was quite understanding and planned to put in a request for a replacement computer. I asked him to wait a month and shared that I was quite confident through prayer that replacement wouldn’t be necessary. He offered me a week, which I gratefully accepted.

On Thursday I received a call from a Los Angeles detective who asked if I had left something in his city. The police had conducted a raid that week on a pawn shop known to traffic in stolen goods and discovered a huge cache of laptops. Mine was the only one they were able to identify. All of the computer cases had been cleaned out, except in mine, a small pocket still held my business card.

We had already scheduled a flight for my mom to come visit the next week, and I arranged with the detective for her to pick up the computer at the police station so she could hand-deliver it to me. When we were completing the call, I asked the detective if he believed in the power of prayer, as he had just witnessed it. He responded, “I do today.”

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This article was published in the June 2026 issue of The Christian Science Journal. To learn more about this monthly magazine, published online and in print, visit HERE.