Wednesday, September 12, 2012

God and treasure hunts


Hello friends at Imperfect Prose! It has been FOREVER since I have written anything (on here) and linked up. I certainly miss the fellowship created. 

This week we had one of those rainy-do-everything-inside days.  Usually I find them quite tiring and mundane. I mean, what really is there to do inside? Having two little boys (and a husband) who get pretty stir crazy, I decided to start our rainy day off with some fun and commenced operation treasure hunt! I made maps, red X’s, and planted fun stops on their journey through the house where they had to battle the Mommy Monster, do a quick change (out of their pajamas into regular cloths) an epic daddy battle, and end by sneaking across the living room to the treasure box that held their morning snack.  

It didn’t go exactly as I had hoped.

When my husband read the instructions to the boys, our youngest burst into tears.
What is this Mommy Monster he was talking about? And why did the 80’s rock music we were listening to stop?  As my husband convinced the boys to start the hunt, I sat listening quietly on the stairs.  I was surprised at two things.  The first being that he actually had to convince them to go on a treasure hunt!!  The second being that they were actually scared of the Mommy monster, a game they are entirely familiar with!

I realized that throwing two things that should cause laughter and excitement together in a completely different format created a game with an unknown outcome. If I had just shown them a treasure, they would have been so excited!  If I had just played Mommy Monster, there would have been fits of giggles.  And yet here we were with two familiar things in a different setting which was met with apprehension and tears.  

It got me thinking about God.  When we experience Him and see His treasure, it’s exciting! When a challenge (from Him) comes, we’ve learned that He’s no monster and we who are willing rise to it and our faith and character grow. Yet there are times when God doesn’t simply hand us the treasure and we have to get into His map and seek it out, and those challenges that rise up seem bigger and scarier then they actually are.  It’s the same God, doing the same things, just in different circumstances.

So my thought it this, when God asks you to seek out His treasure, will you? Or do you feel like it’s too overwhelming.  Are you willing to look deeper into His map and recognize that He’s the same in this as He is when he makes things obvious?
In the last few years, I’ve been in the place of the unknown where I’ve not only had to dive into the His word, but actively seek Him out. And I’ll tell you from experience…it’s worth it!

Linking with Imperfect Prose at http://networkedblogs.com/C3OkL

2 comments:

  1. oh, how this unknown causes us all to forget that the details while strung together may be different, they are still known to us... great thoughts!

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  2. oh my dear girl, how i've missed you. and this is so deep, and it applies to well to my circumstance, it just makes me want to cry. thank you for caring so much, about your boys, about your God, about us. love you melissa.

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