Find

Peek-a-boo.  A baby's game of delight at finding the familiar and loving face behind hands that weren't recognized at first.  In a baby's simple world, what is hidden doesn't exist until revealed with a flourish.

I wonder when that changes in the mind of the baby. After repetition, I suppose. A faith of finding is built through experience - what is behind the unfamiliar hands is a face she knows belongs to the one that takes care of her, loves her...a smiling face saying sweetly, "peek-a-boo!"

A toddler cries when his mother steps away for a moment into the other room, seemingly taking away  protection and care. The toddler eventually discovers that it's only a moment before she returns. I wonder how many times this has to happen until knowledge is built within the toddler that he need not fear and stops crying at her momentary departure.

Children play the favorite childhood game of hide 'n seek that we all know well. One is chosen to count to a specified number while the other children find the perfect place in the yard to squeeze themselves into, hoping the 'it' person doesn't find them this time. A valuable and oft repeated game of learning how to find that which is only hidden for a time.

As we grow, we continue to gain experience in finding. We find friendship. We find ourselves in a classroom or sitting in a congregation. We find joy in revelation and find sadness in failure. Sometimes we find ourselves in hard circumstances and find that others have fallen short of expectations.

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.

~Deuteronomy 4:29-31

I wonder if all this seeking and finding in our lives is all for one purpose; to find the Holy One and to discover for ourselves that we are intended to serve Him. He pulls the veil away from His face to reveal to us the One who gave us life, who provides and cares for us. We find that through the difficult situations and grief-stricken times that He really is there telling us to "fear not", even though we may not be able to see Him at the moment. And we seek within ourselves, like the game of hide 'n seek, to find the gifts, talents and skills that He has given for the sole purpose of glorifying Him through our service to others.

Find.  Seek and find the One who wants to walk beside us in the cool of the day. Find the One who longs to  heal, to comfort and to fill with purpose and hope. Find Him in the quiet times, in the sad times, in the joyous times. Find Him in the loving eyes of your spouse, in the teary eyes of your child and in the caring eyes of your close friends. Find Him in the outstretched hand, the angry outburst of the wounded and in the hug of your neighbor. Find Him at the beginning of life and at the end.

Seek and you will find.
Find purpose.
Find mercy.
Find forgiveness.
Find grace.

Find.