You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all of your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
My summer project, the advent calendar, is finally live, and
it has been fun going through it with the kids.
At this point, it has been so long since I wrote the entries that I feel
like I’m discovering them for the first time.
Writing is funny like that; often I look back at the words I typed
months or years before and think, “I wrote that? I have absolutely no memory of writing those
words.” It kind of takes away the idea
that I’m in control of what I write; it really is a gift.
So tonight’s advent entry talked about the wise men and how
they sought after Jesus relentlessly until the found him. The activity was to play a game of hide and
seek. Can I tell you how awful my boys
are at hide and seek? When Caleb was
looking for Eli, Eli hollered, “I’m in the closet, Caleb!” Then they both screamed with delight because
they found each other. Really. It isn’t particularly hard to hide from them
either. I curled up on the floor next to
Caleb’s bed, and both boys came into the room, looked around, and totally
missed me. My feet were hanging out
beyond the bed, for heaven’s sake, and Caleb walked right behind me, looked the
other direction, and walked back out. “She’s
not in here,” he informed his brother. I guess that's proof that you don't have to be good at something to love it...because these kids would have played hide and seek all night.
And then I had the ah-ha moment. We were supposed to be thinking about what it means to look for God…and
to find him. I wonder how many times God
is right in front of my face, and I’m too distracted by the world to
notice? Hide and seek requires focus; it
demands that we keep our eyes peeled for what matters. What if I maintained that kind of laser-like
focus in my quest for my Father? What if I wouldn't quit until I found Him? Would I
see more of what He does? Would my
perspective change? I don’t know, but I
feel like it’s worth adjusting the glasses, right? I’d hate to miss the really good stuff
because I’m not really looking.
God, please show me
how to seek You with all my heart, even when the world is pressing in on every
side.
