Hide and Seek is a game as old as human nature, starting with Adam and Eve. Down through the years, hide and seek has been a staple kids game - across generations, cultures, time, and place.
Once CoVid hit, our family made an adaptation to the traditional hide and seek game, and now, my girls want to play it almost every chance they get. We call it Flashlight Tag. Basically, if hide and seek and tag got married and had little baby flashlights, that would be this game. It goes something like this:
First, the setting: this game is played inside our house when it's dark outside and all the lights in the house are turned completely off.
Now, for the ground rules:
1. One person is named "it" and begins to count to 10 (in English or Spanish) or count to 20 or count to 100 (if they're a feisty kindergartener and like to show off). Anyway, the person who is "it" counts while everyone else runs and hides.
2. At the end of counting, the "it" person turns on their flashlight and sets out to find someone hiding somewhere in a closet, behind a curtain in a room, behind the door in the bathroom, or inside the washer (that literally only happened once, and by the grace of God, no one was hurt... only they were counseled on why that was a bad idea. We now use the kid lock feature on our washer on the regular. Whew.)
3. Once "it" finds someone's hiding place and shines their flashlight on them, that person turns on their flashlight to become the new person to be "it" and the other person turns off their flashlight and proceeds to find a hiding place.
4. No tag backs. Ever.
5. Yelling "break time" is acceptable at any point in the game by anyone if they need to get some water or need to use the bathroom or just simply feel feisty that their sister is about to tag them. lol.
6. The only way the game will ever end is if mom or dad put a timer on the microwave. Game ends at the beeping sound. Whoever is "it" when the game is done will be the one to start out the game the next time.
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As you can see, this silly-little-game-turned-family-tradition is easy to play and doesn't take much skill beyond finding a hiding spot and only requires the expendability of some flashlights and lots of spare AA batteries.
So, as fun as it is, I'm always curious as to what the draw is to playing this game. over. and over. and over. again. On a regular night, at least one of my girls would be afraid of the dark (or at least that's the reason given for never going to bed on time). But they're fearless in this game. And last time I checked, flashlights aren't the #1 top-selling toy for kids. But they want to play this game more than any of the dump-truck-loads-full-of-toys they own.
As I was thinking it over, I think it simply comes down to a few reasons this game is so loved.
1. The obvious: it's time spent together (sort-of) as a family. Family memories are made from the time someone blended in with the curtain for the entirety of the game… to the time when someone was laying down in the closet & pulled your leg when you went in there (and simultaneously gave you a heart attack because you didn't even know someone else was in there with you).
2. Humans like to hide.
3. Humans long to be found.
Silly kid games aside, I wonder: Is there anything you're hiding from in your life today? Hiding from a person you disagree with? Hiding from memories of a painful past? Hiding from honestly sharing your full story? Hiding from healthy community? Accountability? Authenticity? What is it that you're hiding from?
Better yet, what would it look like for you to be found?
I don't know your specific situation and life details, but I'm willing to bet (and I'm not even a betting woman), with the amount of surplus AA batteries kicking around in the world today, there's a person, a group, or a tribe that's willing-and-ready to turn on their flashlights and seek you out. They're ready to accept you as you are, and willing to listen to your heart, life, and story.
Through prayer, ask the Lord who those people in your life may be. And with wisdom & discretion, proceed to let them in on what you've been hiding from or what darkness you've been going through. Instead of running away from you, I believe God has already placed people in your life who not only can handle your story, but they will be better off for you sharing it all.
After all, you've been hiding long enough.
The feisty kindergartener's count is already up to 99.
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Now, Tag. You're it.
Go bring into light the things that are lurking in the dark.
Be honest with yourself and others.
Process the past.
Verbalize the hurts.
Get to counseling if you need to.
Get into healthy community.
& Go tell the story God's graciously given to you.
Your story.
His glory.
& That’s what it looks like to be found.
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