Ready or Not...Here I Come!

Kayla picking apples several years ago.

This essay was originally posted in November, 2012 when my Kayla Joy was only 5...

Ready or not, here I come!  It’s an anthem of childhood from one of the best games ever. Hide and Seek. Kayla wants to play it every day. She doesn’t really play fair though, especially when it’s my turn to hide. I see her, hands covering face, peeking through her fingertips while she counts out loud. The joy of her “discovering” me behind the curtain or under the trampoline or covered in blankets is evident in her squeals of delight…as if she has just uncovered treasure.

Yesterday, in the backyard, she hid under the empty blue kiddie pool, covered in Fall leaves. It’s still there from the summer months and actually it’s great for all kinds of other fun. Leave it to kids to come up with creative ways to use anything. They are really so resourceful.

It was her turn to hide and she ran and pulled the empty plastic pool over on top of herself. She was so proud, thinking for sure she’d duped me. Of course it was obvious to me where she was hiding. I had known where she was at every moment. In that instant, I was struck by the utter audacity of thinking we can hide from God and the words of one of my favorites, Psalm 139, came to mind:

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you. (vs.7-12)

We think we have gone somewhere that He won’t go, that He’s forgotten us like we have forgotten Him. Nope. Even when we run away from Him. Even when we deny His existence. Even then, He is near, like a mother who knows exactly where her child is.

On a side note- I can not overestimate the beauty of the words of the Bible hidden in my heart. This mostly came from my parents, daily helping me memorize Scripture as a child. Priceless. Because, seriously, it comes to my mind and spirit out of the clear blue sky. It’s inside of me, His Word.

No matter where you find yourself, God is right there. He sees you. He celebrates you. He has some ideas for you that might just blow your mind.

Even if your forget Him, He can’t forget You. Listen to His words in Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you—never. Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands.”

You’ve been found.

Love, Christy

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