Tag! You're It!

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  ~Jeremiah 29:13

             I crouched in the dark trying not to breathe too loudly and give my hiding place away.  I listened intently for the person who was trying to catch me.  My heart thumped against my chest.  I flinched at the tickle running across my ankle and hoped it wasn’t a spider, or worse, a snake.  A twig snapped close by.  Should I run for it?  Or should I stay?  There!  A flashlight scanned the clump of bushes to the side of me.  I leapt to my feet!  The flashlight flashed across my face and chest accompanied by a triumphant yell, “I found you!  Tag!  You’re It!”  I squealed, caught between disappointment and delight.  I hurriedly took the flashlight from my friend and eagerly began to count.
     Now it was my turn.  It was dark and the way was uncertain.  There were obstacles to go around and many places that needed to be searched.  Gleefully, I turned the flashlight high and low searching out my friends favorite hiding places.  We never tired of playing flashlight tag.
    God says that we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart.  But how do I keep my focus on Him in this demanding world that pulls me in so many ways?    I want to have a childlike wonder at the closeness of Jesus who loves even me.  Me.  Me with all of my warts and worries, sins and secrets, me.  It is so easy to lose sight of Him when my attention is arrested by the busyness and stresses of life.  I ricochet from one thing to another like a flashlight in the dark.
     Still, I want to grab hold of the light and chase away the dark.  I know the Lord is not hiding from me like my friends were in our game of flashlight tag.  He wants to be found.  To be found and passed along to others.  Everything you and I do as believers should point to God.  We are to shine.  To make a difference in the lives of others.  To take charge over the darkness.  We draw others to God by pointing, or shining our light in His direction.  Person to person.  Hand to hand.  His love reaching out.
     One way to shine your light is through the ministry of Compassion International.  Right now, there are children waiting.  You can sponsor a child with a tax-deductible contribution of $38 a month.  Your support provides food and clean water, medical care, educational opportunities, and even more importantly, your sponsored child will hear about the Light of the World.  Please visit the Compassion website.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
.   And a light to my path.  ~Psalm 119:105

     Tag!  You're it!

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=133234