Hide or Seek?

A simple game of Hide-n-Seek with my niece and nephews this holiday season has me thinking about my approach to reaching the lost and needy.

Luke, my four-year-old nephew, and I found the best hiding places and were the last to be found! He could hardly stand the excitement and even attempted to "whistle" a couple of times just to get our seeker looking in the right direction. We'd been sitting in the bathtub, with shower curtain pulled for quite some time when my oldest nephew, Henry, came in, turned the light on and said, "They're not in here." Since the shower curtain is somewhat sheer as we could see Henry clear as day (at which point I made the mental note to keep the bathroom door locked when taking a shower), Luke and I could hardly believe Henry hadn't seen us.

Every day, I look into faces of people just waiting to be found. Am I really so blinded by the "game" of seeking that when I actually find what I'm looking for I convince myself that they're not there?

A few minutes later, we all regrouped in the living room where it became my turn to seek. My three-year-old niece, Maggie, ran with every ounce of energy to the little rug at the top of the stairs, threw herself on the ground and pulled the corner over her head. She was shaking with enthusiasm as she'd discovered the best hiding place ever!

Like Maggie, I tend to believe that if I can't see the need, it will simply cease to exist.

I've become quite the expert at finding excuses NOT to go seeking. I could play Hide-n-Seek for hours with my niece and nephews, but when it comes to "seeking" the lost, I'd much rather go "hide" somewhere.

Fortunately, we don't have to search too hard or too long to find lost people or people who have needs. May the women of Grace Baptist Church become seekers! Chattanooga needs to be found!

~Rebecca Phillips~