Squeak! I hear as our sliding door moves on its rails. Two small children squeeze through the opening and plunk down on the red faux-leather couch. They do not have furniture in their home, and they consider these comfy couches a wonderful playground. The dog will often join them. Every now and then, the little ones walk to the food cabinet to get drinks and popped corn.

Yellow is deaf, and we had to learn basic sign language very quickly to communicate with her. It helped that her friend Ester could hear. They are both five years old and live in the Disability Center next to our home. We fell in love with these children. They fill our days with joy. We play many games of hide and seek with them. We make a noise and stamp our feet as we come down the stairs to look for them. They giggle and squeal and then try to stay silent as we get closer to their hiding places. When they finally see us, they can’t restrain their shouts.

As I reminisce about our times with our young friends, I think about how often we play hide and seek with God. We hide as though He cannot see us. Still, deep in our hearts, we long for Him to find us. Do we think we are fine on our own and want a sense of autonomy? When the joy of exploring fades and we realize that we are lonely, we yearn for reassurance that God wants to find us—that His love will never stop pursuing us.

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