Hidden

As I was heaving the watermelon out of the cart into my mini black SUV trunk on a sweltering summer day, tiny silver hoops on a white card caught a glint of sun's rays and flashed a hello up at me. So I finished unloading the rest of the bags from the cart, slammed my trunk door, rolled the cart to its nearest holding tank and made my way back into Walmart with my errant earrings.

I scurried to the nearest self-checkout. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a Walmart worker coming my way. So much for trying to remain unseen. I figured she was probably wondering what was up. As I began to explain that my earrings had been playing Hide-and-Seek, I realized she didn't want to hear about it. Instead I was being chastised for not waiting in line. There was a line-up for self-checkouts? Who knew? When she pointed to the line, the glares confirmed this truth. Oops. I was already in progress so I scurried even faster as I apologized and rambled.

A couple days later I went to retrieve those shiny little rascals. They were small and lightweight. Perfect to put in while I did water sports like skiing and surfing like I was about to do. But, hmmmm. Where did they go? So I did what I always tell my kids and hubbie to do: retraced my steps.

Yep the last time I had seen those hoops they were hiding out solo in the bottom of an oversized white plastic bag on the kitchen counter. One I probably scooped up in a rush with all the other bags once I had finished unpacking. And where do I put those bags? In a big bag on our garage shelf to be used with our scooper to remove our two dogs' landmines from our lawn. (Speaking of landmines, my neighbor stepped barefoot on one from our 90-lb. Newfie mix the other day; he handled it like a champ; I would have demanded a gift card for a nice restaurant and a massage place for emotional distress, minimum.)

So I scurried out to the garage to look for them. No luck. Which means…my beauties were most likely covered in something not so lovely. And how desperate was I for them? Not desperate enough, I will tell you that. Even considering all the measures I had taken to purchase them. Good-bye cool, would-have-been useful, pretty earrings. Bye-bye and farewell.

I'm so thankful that God doesn't discount me as quickly as I did those earrings though. Aren't you?

That Jesus leaves the 99 to seek out the wayward one (Matthew 18:12-14). How he loves us, especially when we are less than pretty. When others have tossed us aside carelessly, given up on us, or forgotten about us, he continues to lovingly pursue us and work through us. That gives me abounding hope.

I pray that you and I will understand and respond to God's loving pursuit and not play Hide-and-Seek with the One who loves us and made us for so much more than we can even begin to imagine.

Now to Him who is able to do infinitely more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. —Ephesians 3:20

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. —Reckless Love by Cory Asbury