Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Hide and Seek

Aaron LOVES playing hide and seek.


He anticipates this game for hours and bubbles over with joy for the entire time anyone is willing to play it with him.
 On his favorites list, hide and seek ranks right up there with eating candy.

That's high.



The only thing is, Aaron's version of hide and seek is a little bit different from what most people know as hide and seek.

He likes order and predictability in his world.

So, when he hides, he almost always hides in the same place.
Usually behind the door in my office.
And when Aaron is "It", he always provides detailed instructions so that his hiders will know exactly where they are supposed to hide.
That way, he can easily find them.



Even if they play ten rounds of hide and seek, he tries to send his hiders to the same hiding place every time. 
And he happily finds them there, each time.



With as much joy and surprise as if he had worked hard to figure out where they were.

Aaron plays hide and seek like a small toddler plays it.  With a deep need for sameness and security. 
With a fragile understanding that hiders can be found again. 
He doesn't want the game to be hard. 
He isn't interested in having his hiders disappear on him for any length of time.

He knows what it is to be lost.  Hidden.  Left behind. 
He knows deep within his soul what it means to be abandoned. 

He was a Lost Boy for six years.

So he plays hide and seek with his Papa and his brothers in a way that minimizes unpleasant surprises.

  And he makes sure that they can find him with ease.
Because the joy isn't in the seeking. It's in the finding!




And this is One Former Little Lost Boy who never wants to ever truly be Lost again.


14 comments:

  1. Precious! I just love that big, gaping hole in his super, huge smile!

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  2. How beautifully you have told this. Aaron relives again and again the joy of finding and being found.

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  3. Such a beautiful post. I love that you let us into Aaron's world as he learns to play like a "found" boy. He makes me remember to be happy and find joy in the simpler things of life. I am off to play ball and hide-n-seek with my toddler who plays it the same way as Aaron but sometimes I find it boring and don't want to play :)

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  4. I am so in love with Aaron's smile. I would probably hide in the same place for hours just to see it again and again. He is so amazing!

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  5. Oh my goodness, bless his little heart. What a sweet little man and I pray for the Lord to continue to heal his heart!

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  6. Those two sentences are beautiful : "Because the joy isn't in the seeking. It's in the finding!"

    Of course he wants to be found and to find! He has had enough of being lost. How sweet that such a major thing can show even in a simple thing like playing hide and seek...

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  7. Your writing is beautiful- truly. You put such powerful emotions into your writing. You have a gift (besides Aaron and the rest of your family- which clearly are the biggest gifts of all).

    Amazing.

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  8. Love this post! He's such a sweet, beautiful little boy!

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  9. You are so right...this is exactly the way my 2.5 yo daughter plays!!

    Happy hiding...

    I continue to seek my little one...

    Carla
    www.bringinghenryhome.blogspot.com

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  10. I look for Aaron in the same place every time too, and he is always here!

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  11. Who knew a story about hide & seek could make a person cry!! This is so sweet and precious!

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  12. Beautiful!!! I pray for all the little lost boys and girls that they may find a family as loving as Aaron's family!

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  13. Beautiful post. "Because the joy isn't in the seeking It's in the finding."

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Loving words from kind people make our hearts glad!