Hide and Seek

Did you ever play hide and seek as a kid? What did you enjoy more - hiding or seeking? Personally, it wasn't one of my favorite games because I would get a little scared! What if I didn't find a place to hide before the 'seeker' stopped counting? Then it was the time waiting to be found, hearing them come close - "Will they find me or not?" It almost seemed like my heart was going to pound right through my chest because it was beating so fast!

Hide and seek. Two words. They provoke many thoughts to ponder. If you haven't noticed by now, I like questions.

Do you hide from the Lord? Why?

Do you seek Him?

Have you found Him?

Do you let Him seek you?

Sometimes it is hard to find the Lord. He's hidden. Sometimes I expect Him to reveal Himself clearly to me. Yet, He doesn't, but does He? I have to look, to seek, Him out! I have to remember that His ways are not my ways. He is present ALL the time. I have to learn to look with new eyes and to let go of my own expectations.

What are your expectations? Are you waiting to respond because He hasn't spoken to you in the way you wanted Him to? Do you expect Him to reveal Himself to you directly? clearly? on your terms? OR have you surrendered to His ways?

I encourage you this Lent to persevere in seeking the Lord! When you played "hide and seek" did you ever give up looking? No! You wanted to find everyone who was hiding! Well, don't give up on seeking the Lord. He may be hiding, but He can be found. On the other hand, if you are the one hiding from God, then you may need to reflect on why you are doing this. Let Him seek you!

So - go play "hide and seek" with the Lord! Let me know who wins!

I'll leave you with a quote from Archbishop Luis M. Martinez in his book Secrets of the Interior Life:

"Here we meet with the key of the interior life. The explanation of these apparent contradictions lies in this: that our God is a hidden God, as the sacred Scriptures tell us. 'Verily Thou art a hidden God.' (Isaiah 45:15) And a hidden God must be sought. If there is a secret hiding place in a room, and if there is a person concealed in it, we do not encounter him, even though he is near us. We do not even suspect his presence. Thus it is with God. He is a hidden God. He is present everywhere, but everywhere He is concealed: in the stars of the heavens, in the earth that supports us, in the air that we breathe, in the neighbors that surround us. But will we always discover God?

...As our Faith tells us, God lives in our heart. But sad experience teaches us that we do not always encounter Him. Why? Because, although He is there, He is hidden; and to find a hidden person, it is necessary to seek him. God is in the Eucharist in a special way, and of all the places where He is, there we encounter Him most easily. However, even there He is hidden. How often we draw near to the tabernacle without perceiving or feeling anything!

Consequently one of the secrets of the interior life consists, not in knowing where God is, because we already know that He is everywhere, but in knowing that, wherever He is, He is hidden. Hence, the secret of entering into communication with Him is to find Him."

- submitted by Sister M. Consolata, FSGM