Margaret's Head Count

Margaret Dawson drove Bus 14 for the Calhoun County school district for thirty-one years. Every afternoon, she counted heads before pulling away from Ridgeview Elementary. Twenty-three seats. Twenty-three children. She knew every name.

One November afternoon, she counted twenty-two. She checked her mirror again. Seat nine — empty. That was Eli Torres.

The other children grew restless. "Mrs. Dawson, can we go?" But Margaret put the bus in park, radioed the front office, and walked back into the building herself. She found Eli sitting alone in the gymnasium hallway, knees pulled to his chest, crying because his parents were splitting up and he didn't want to go home.

Margaret sat down on that cold tile floor beside him. She didn't rush. She didn't lecture. She just stayed until he was ready.

Twenty-two children waited on that bus. Not one of them was forgotten. But Margaret's whole attention fixed on the one who was missing — because the one who is hurting needs you more than the twenty-two who are safe.

That is the heart of the shepherd in Luke 15. He doesn't calculate percentages or weigh the risk. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one — not because the others don't matter, but because the lost one matters that much. And when he finds that sheep, he doesn't scold it. He lifts it onto his shoulders and carries it home rejoicing. The Almighty doesn't lose count of His children. He will not pull away until every one is found.