This charming little story dropped into my inbox earlier in the week; thanks Daniel. It wonderfully illustrates the wisdom of young children. I don’t imagine it’s a factually accurate account of something that happened, but I can imagine it being a thought sparked by something a child said.
Hide and Seek
One summer day a mother looked out the window of her house. There in the garden she saw her little daughter rolling around the grass in fits of laughter. Intrigued she went outside to investigate. Approaching her daughter the mother asked, “My child, what do you find so amusing?”
“I understand, I understand,” replied the child among bursts of giggles.
“What do you mean?” questioned the mother.
“Well,” answered the child, “I was playing outside on the grass when I started thinking about God, and how I’ve heard people say that God is everywhere. But I looked around and couldn’t see God anywhere. So I thought, ‘Of course! God must be playing a game of hide and seek’. So I decided to try find God. I looked among the roses; for I’ve heard that God is beautiful. But God wasn’t there. I lay on my back and searched the skies; for I’ve heard that God is up in the heavens. But God wasn’t there. I dug in the ground; for I’ve heard that God supports us all. But God wasn’t there. And I became very frustrated and I called out, ‘Where are you God? Why have you left me?’ And then, all of a sudden, a sense of peace came over me and I realized the truth!”
Spellbound, the mother gently inquired, “What truth?”
“That,” giggled the little child, “It wasn’t God who was hiding, it was me.”
So much of our lives we stumble around lost, trying to find God, never realizing he has already found us. All we really need to do is to stop hiding from God and to embrace him fully.
About Paul Sibley
Andrew Gosden (now 18) has been missing from his Doncaster home since 14 September 2007. The search continues.
Elizabeth Jackson on 
That’s beautiful!