Sunday, January 1, 2017

Hide And Seek

I will start out the New Year with God at play.  Yes, God does play, not only in creating, but in our childhood games, such as hide and seek.  When you first played the game as a child, you are not good at it.  You don't yet know where the good hiding places are or what hiding patterns people have so you can find them and say, "You're it!" You lack experience as a beginner.  They all get to the goal before you find anyone.  Then you are discouraged and don't want to play anymore.  Prayer is like hide and seek.  When you first start out, God seems to be hiding.  "I cannot find you God!"  But God is only hiding, yet patient.  God does not want to win, as in getting to the goal before you find God.  God wants to be found, but it takes some doing.  If you quit in frustration, you will not find God in prayer and maybe even decide God does not exist or prayer is a waste of time.  God only hides so that you will seek to find, be steadfast and trust it will all work out.  Now Susan Abernathy, you have a way to teach your children about prayer!  Maybe this will help other Catholic school teachers too.

1 comment:

  1. Ray Lew - Old St. Mary's Cathedral - San Francisco, CAJanuary 1, 2017 at 6:54 AM

    Via Fr. Terry: Ms. Abernathy, 'I wished the good nnuns in my younger yrs, just some --70-- yrs. ago, would have your creativity to encourage me to keep praying to God, BVM, the saints for what was needed in and for my life as a child to adolescence -- by your analogy story. However, creative nuns were not permitted to deviate from the Catechism in explaining religion if and when the Word got out in public before Vatican II. Now, Jesuit Pope Francis is advocating for using *pastoral* approaches to understand complex theology, appropriate for the [Erik Erikson's] Life Cycle - from birth to the grave. I am encouraged to keep playing my life's journey in a Play and Seek game with God - Mother Mary - and even His Saints, sometimes, even as a "Simple Dance" [as the Shakers do]'! May 2017 keep you Susan teaching Spirituality.

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