By Ann Farabee
No doubt we have all participated in a game of hide and seek.
Everyone knows the rules.
The person who is “it” counts aloud to a pre-selected number like 10, while everyone hides.
“It” then says something like, “1.2.3.4.5.6.7.10! Ready or not, here I come!”
“It” begins looking for the people who are hiding.
The word look is different from the word seek.
To look means to see it or pay attention to it.
To seek means to go in search of something.
If you are playing with children age 5 or under, and you are “it,” finding those who are hiding while playing indoors can be pretty simple. Look around. Stand still. Listen for whispering, giggling and rustling sounds. Walk toward those sounds.
As “it,” I never let the children know that I know where they are. I make a huge scene while slamming doors and wondering aloud, “Where in the world could they be?” Then, I make loud announcements like, “I think I will look in the kitchen! I bet he is hiding in there!”
There was that one time though…
One little hider had not been located.
I looked everywhere.
Looking everywhere was not successful, for I was only looking with my eyes.
I needed to seek for him.
I knew he had to be near — so I called out his name.
No answer.
I noticed the blanket on the floor of the closet I had looked at earlier.
This time — I decided to lift up the blanket, so I could seek for him.
There he was.
Safe, secure and soundly sleeping.
Seeking for him had mattered.
Looking for him had not been enough.
Does God’s word mention hide and seek?
Adam and Eve hid from God, but God knew exactly where they were.
Jonah hid from God and ended up in the belly of the whale.
“He is our hiding place,” — Psalm 119:114
“We are to seek him while he may be found,” — Isaiah 55:6
Hiding from God? Impossible.
He knows exactly where we are.
Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.
