Hiding Place

“Here I come, ready or not!” After a count-down of 1-10 or 1-20, the game of Hide and Seek began. The adrenaline would be pumping whether you were the Hider or the Seeker. The Hider would be looking for the perfect place to nestle in, hidden from view so no “harm” might come from the Seeker.

Flashing forward a generation, my sons managed to find some ingenious hiding places. Jeff discovered that he could get into the narrow, vertical closet housing the vacuum sweeper, along with the sweeper! Another of his favorite places was crawling into the china cabinet’s lower section where the tablecloths were stored. I think he only used that spot once!

Brian and his cousin, Todd, “put the icing on the cake” when it came to hiding. They hid themselves so completely, we ended up calling the police because we still had not found them by nightfall.

The boys finally emerged, jubilant at having found the perfect hiding place—under shelves in a walk in closet in the basement. I don’t remember any more games of Hide and Seek after that. The disciplining from that incident may have taken the joy out of any further escapades.

These memories surfaced in my mind when I was reading Psalm 32 a few days ago.  David writes in verse 7, “You (God) are my hiding place.”  The modern day songwriter used that verse and finished the thought with, “whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.”

That idea led me to thinking of ways and things we trust that stand on pretty shaky ground. In King David’s day, world powers trusted in their horses and chariots (see Psalm 20:7). Modern day Americans trust in stocks and bonds, houses and cars, boats and 4-wheelers, plus Star Wars weapons and military might. These delightful or powerful things make very poor hiding places in the final outcome.

I think I’ll stick to the psalmist’s idea.