HIDE AND SEEK

Remember when you were a wee, little child and were playing the game of hide and seek? It was fun hiding, but there was some little voice inside that asked, "What if they can't find me? The what happens?" To make sure that could never happen, you might make a peep, meow like a kitten, or giggle. This helped the "seeker" to hone in on your position and "find you."

I thought about that as I read a single line from Henri J.M. Nowen's "A Cry for Mercy." There he said, "Listen to my desire to be with you." A simple line that jumped off the page at me. In an instant I realized how much of my life I have asked God to find me. My prayers, far too often, have been those, "Come and find where I am and join me in it God." And I realized quickly how foolish that is.

For me to consider God as the traveler and me as the destination is as self-centered as it gets. God's voice calls us saying, "Come to me...and I will give you rest." We, not God, are the weary travelers. We are the ones with parched lives in need of the source of Living Water. In our deep desire to "be with Him" it often takes our initiative to find that place where God is already at work, and join him where He is. Make no mistake, there are those times in life when we lie on the side of the road in a heap and need God to rescue us. But day in and day out for us to "invite" God to visit us in our little, personal space seems extremely prideful. And it keeps us stuck in our own world.

O Lord, help me find that wonderful place where you are and join you there. The journey may be long and difficult, but my desire is to be with you. Thank you for calling out to me, "Ollie, Ollie in free."