Jann Mills is an emerging writer who enjoys writing devotionals and short stories about experiencing God in our everyday lives. She received an Honorable Mention in the 2020 Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition for her short story submission. She has attended the Florida Christian Writers’ Conference, Word Weaver critique groups, and is a member of the National Association of Memoir Writers. Jann calls St. Petersburg, Florida home, and if she’s not writing you will find her walking the beach, gardening on her patio, or spending time with her grandchildren, Ava, Miles, and Max.
In my adult life I sometimes find myself searching for cover. It’s tempting to shrink from our talents, responsibilities, or opportunities, and retreat from the dreams God has given us. We may play Hide and Seek with the truth, ourselves, or God. Unconfessed sin and lingering shame may keep us hidden behind the landscape. Sometimes we disappear in roles or relationships we’ve outgrown, taking refuge in others. Or we may find our identity in problems and struggles, seeking cover behind them. We hide in a variety of ways. While not all hiding is sinful, it is limiting in nature and keeps us from fully becoming the individual God created us to be.
When evening play came to an end, the seeker called the game by shouting, “Ollie Ollie In Come Free.” The phrase signaled to us that we were free to approach home base safely without fear of penalty. Upon hearing those words, we abandoned our hideouts and ran toward home base with mixed feelings, as another evening’s play was coming to a close.
A maple or oak tree served as home base in those days. But a lifetime later, I’ve exchanged the sturdy maple for the safety of my heavenly Father’s outstretched arms. Because of God’s loving nature, I am free to come out from behind the shadows and into the open without fear of judgment. When I came out of hiding as a child, I feared I’d be tagged or caught. As an adult, my fear is that I’ll be seen; naked, vulnerable, exposed.
An illusion of safety invites us to blend in with our surroundings. God calls us out from behind our hiding spots of doubt, fear, or vulnerability. He calls us to a safe place where we can shed our protective behaviors. And just as we outgrew our clothes and playmates over the long, hot summer, we also outgrow our old familiar hiding places. We grow into the people God created us to be, leaving behind our childish ways of hiding and seeking.
We’ve all played Hide and Seek. For some of us it was just a childhood game we played at the end of the day, or perhaps it has become a way of life. God continues to coax us out from behind our hiding spots. He reminds us that we are loved. We are safe. We are His! “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” God calls to us. “It’s getting dark. It’s time to come home. Ollie, Ollie, in come free.”
So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (
