Treasure Hunt

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
-Deuteronomy 4:29


Let’s go on a treasure hunt.

Your objective: to find Me.
I’ll give you a list of things to do, and you follow its directives.

Ready? Good. Let’s begin.

To Do #1- Observe either a sunrise or a sunset. Note the colors, how they blend in subtle shades and cover the sky in its canvas.

To Do #2- Depending on the season, do one of the following: feel the crisp air of autumn sweep across your face; listen to the fall of the rain in a summer storm; watch snowflakes dance across a gray backdrop and nestle comfortably on the ground in winter; reach out and touch the soft buds of flowers in spring, so delicate it is as if you stroke your hands against satin.

To Do # 3- Laugh along with a child. Feel their lighthearted peals soar straight into your heart. Hear how carefree they are with their chuckle.

To Do # 4- Take a night where you are alone, turn off the lights, put some candles on and settle in your favorite cushioned chair. Watch the shadows from the flames flicker across the wall, smell the citrus, spice and vanilla scents blending together. Breathe in, slowly. Close your eyes. Exhale, slowly. Savor the silence.

Are you getting closer?

To Do # 5- Throw on your favorite music. Turn the volume up. More. There, perfect. Sing along. Dance around. Loosen your limbs and let the melody sweep you away.

To Do # 6- Get in your car and drive. Just go. Anywhere. As you cruise, look at the landscapes, the cityscapes, the seascapes you pass. See passing before you the small towns, the cattle grazing among the fields, the glow of the sun off the windows of buildings.

To Do # 7- Do something nice for a stranger. Open a door. Pick up their garbage they left at the table. Compliment them on how their shirt enhances their eyes. Observe how they react. Observe how you feel.

To Do # 8- Think about your greatest dream. Your greatest goal, the thing you hold tightly against your chest. Taste it. Turn it so you may catch its light from all angles. Dare to hope that dream can turn into reality.

To Do # 9- Count the stars. Number them, as far as you are able to count, and connect the dots to draw designs in the night sky. Do not worry about running out of room. The black paper above you is endless.

Last one.

To Do # 10- Read Psalm 139. It’s a poem. Middle of My book, the Bible. Read it slowly, read it one line at a time. See what it says. Examine the words and how they hit you when you finish.


You see, I know you. Know every tiny detail of your makeup that even slips your mind at times. I know when you rise, and when you lay your head to bed. I want you to know I know you. I have found you from before you felt the air of this earth and came to be.

But have you found Me? Have you reached Me yet? It’s not hard. I’ve been with you this entire time. Been in the purples of the sky and smile of that child. Been the whispers in the silence, the music strumming through your soul. And I am that dream you are afraid to show the world.

Seek Me, my beloved. Turn and search for Me in the quiet places, in the loud and brash bellows of your breathing. The hunt may prove more difficult than imagined, longer, a bit confusing. But my dear, I promise you, there is glorious, sparkling treasure at the end when You reach the last to do checkmark, when you put it all together and I am in full view, a puzzle completed to form a breathtaking image.


Prayer:
I want to see You, I want to know that there is something bigger than me out there, Someone fighting my battles for me and loving me with a relentless, unconditional love. You say You are with me, and have been since I was born. Give me the courage to look, to see You in the small things, the daily activities I do without thought. Let me see You in the sky, feel You in the breeze. And let Your Spirit slip into my heart, inflating me with a feeling I have never experienced before. Amen.