“I want to play Hide and Seek!” her melodic baby voice declares. Her brown eyes sparkle with anticipation. Her body stands poised, ready to run off at my word. The part of me that wants to answer, “Again?” is quickly quashed, and she runs off giggling as I close my eyes and start to count.
My three-year-old granddaughter, Lacey, has discovered the game, Hide and Seek. Like other favorite activities, she asks to play it repeatedly. Her favorite part of the game is being found. Her eyes widen; her smile broadens. She is thrilled to hear, “I found you!”
Lacey is not particularly good at hiding, so I often pretend I don’t see her at first. If I do not find her quickly enough, though, she helps me by calling out to me. Sometimes she will even walk up to her seeker, grinning in anticipation of hearing “I found you!”
As she gets older, I am sure my granddaughter will get better at hiding. She’ll learn to blend in better. She will endure waiting in a solitary hiding spot, and her game strategy will improve. It will become more difficult to find her. Yet I’m sure she will still want to hear “I found you!”
Sadly, this won’t only be true of playing Hide and Seek. As she matures, she will hide parts of herself that she fears are not good enough. She will put up barriers and push people away to protect herself from hurt. She will become more inhibited and share less of herself. Yet she will still long to hear, “I found you!”
I know this because it is true for me as well as for countless others. We all want to be found despite obstacles that stand in the way. Often, we build barriers and defenses to hide behind, even though what we really want is to love and be loved. This dichotomy is a part of human nature, and it is a theme all around us.
This theme is obvious in the dating realm, which is full of hiders and seekers. Some play hard to get. They create obstacles to a steady romance to see how hard the other will work for their love. Others feign disinterest. They act unavailable or count a certain number of days before calling back. Some hide their true feelings to allow time to discern how genuine another’s feelings are based on how persistent and true the search.
As art reflects life, so many stories told in movies, books and songs reflect the theme of hide and seek. Many movies have a hero who must slay dragons, win a race, or chase off an old boyfriend to win the heroine’s heart. Similarly, many novels follow a protagonist who must prove his love until the final climax when his pursued opens her eyes and realizes that his love is true and she can trust him with the feelings that she has been guarding.
Perhaps this theme originated with the salvation story-a perfect Christ who seeks the hearts of the lost human race. The sinners who hide in their own imperfections until they recognize that their Savior is their one true love, the One they can be vulnerable in front of.
To mirror Christ’s love, the unconditional love of parents (and grandparents!) displays the theme of loving despite obstacles, hide and seek. No one knows a child’s imperfections and difficulties better than a parent, and no one loves him more fiercely. That doesn’t stop a child from thinking he can hide from or avoid his parent. Yet in a healthy family, he is always found.
Lacey, being human, may be predisposed in her longing to hear “I found you!” She shares the human condition that wants to be sought, to know that she is loved no matter what she does to thwart it. As in her preschool game of Hide and Seek, I’m sure she will continue to be thrilled when she is found.
So Lacey, no matter how well you think you’ve hidden, I promise that I will always find you.
Awesome post.
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Thank you!
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A beautiful heartfelt post
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Thank you! My heart feels a lot for Lacey!
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Really enjoyed reading this–which I did almost directly after being on my guitar and singing about coming to the end of decision making that leads to pain and unrest and remembering that we can call on Him because He is always there, waiting and ready to catch our cares. It was God who first loved us 🙂
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He always finds us!
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Amen!
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I have been a Christian many years and have never heard a more loving analogy for many of our responses to God’s call. So sweet and full of love and understanding.
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Thank you Joy!
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Such a powerful, touching post.
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Thank you for reading it with me, Diana!
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That was a very profound post! And also true, as we all do long to be “found.”
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Thank you , Ann. It’s human nature!
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What a beautiful post! Being found is an incredible relief for me, even when I’ve been trying so hard to put up walls and wear a mask. Thanks so much for sharing this!
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My pleasure! Thanks for reading!
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Love this post! Beautifully written – so glad you are sharing your thoughts with us!
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Thank you! John says he has to come here and read to know what I’m thinking!
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You found me.
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Haha! So I did!
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You have done so much with a childhood glee
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Thank you! “Glee” is the perfect word for this! I should have used it!
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I often wish I’d used words my followers include in the comments 🙂
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That’s good to know 🙂
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🙂 Thanks for reading my blog!
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Great post! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks for sharing it with me!
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God bless you!
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Thank you! He has! I wish the same for you!
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I have posted this article in my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MyOfficialDiary/
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Thank you! I look forward to meeting your friends.
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/meeting interesting bloggers/ people.
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My young grand-daughter once hid too well and oh my I had several moments of panic. She was two, and suddenly she was nowhere in the house. I ran from floor to floor yelling her name, finally I saw her, standing still, wrapped in the sheer curtains surrounding my dining room windows. Oh my…I still laugh when I picture myself running like a maniac around the house and her standing still watching me.
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That is hilarious! My son used to do something similar in the clothing racks at stores!
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The hide-and-seek analogy is wonderful! We do all want to be found, it seems, by love. And — in our fear and ignorance — often hide from it when it’s right there. Lovely post.
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And a lovely summary! Thank you Cate!
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Great read! Many thanks for stopping by and following my Travel and Photography blog 🙂
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Very well written! Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for your kind words and for reading!
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Thank you for sharing your wisdom! I love how you used hide and seek to talk about the bigger issue of sharing ourselves wholly.
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That’s a great way to put it! Thanks for reading my post!
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