Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the every day occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
 
 
 
I had a good morning last week:

• Because my feet were hurting due to split heels and what I think is Morton’s neuroma acting up (my fault—I wore ill-fitting shoes for one day and paid for it), I spent the whole afternoon reading down through the pile of periodicals that had accumulated while I was out of country for almost a month. I used to spend days reading, one book after another. Where did those days go? I need to do that more.
  
• David helped me change the bedclothes from the spring/summer set to the fall/winter set. I HATE to crawl into a cold bed, and my daughter gave us the most luxurious-feeling velour sheets, which both David and I love. Seasonal changes, however, require stripping the mattress, lifting the top mattress off the bed, removing the white percale bed skirt and pinning it in place on the box-spring mattress, then turning the top mattress over to reduce wear and tear. The heavy comforter comes out of the box. The summer pillows are put away. And, the winter throw-pillows are taken out of their plastic covers. There! I have a cozy winter bedroom. “Is it worth it?” you might ask. Try crawling into velour sheets and a thick comforter some cold night or some sunny winter afternoon. I think you will agree that a safe and cozy bed and a good night’s sleep is a gift from God. Not everyone has this.
  
• I made bagel chips from the free day-old bagels that often turn up at the St. Vincent de Paul resale shop I frequent about once a week. The Cuisinart slices them, and I bake them at a low oven temperature after they have been sprayed with oil and sprinkled with herbs, garlic salt and some dried parmesan topping. Yum!
  
• I cleaned the hatbox that stores all the accumulated travel equipment I toss into it. Packets of in-flight earplugs, wooly stockings and eye shades (which international airlines no longer distribute to economy-seat passengers), extra bottles of hotel creams and shampoos, cans of mosquito sprays, a travel iron (which I have used infrequently), and electrical converters for overseas travel. This task wasn’t absolutely necessary, but it felt good having it done.

How many absolutely happy mornings (or days) do we spend in a lifetime? Not enough. Mundane events? Oh, perhaps. But, let’s turn to Walt Whitman again, the poet who always spies the magnificent in the mundane.

And I will show that there is no imperfection in the present,
.............and can be none in the future,
And I will show that whatever happens to anybody it may
.............be turned to beautiful results,
And I will show that nothing can happen more beautiful
.............than death,
And I will thread a thread through my poems that time and
.............events are compact,
And that all the things of the universe are perfect miracles,
.............each as profound as any.

There is artistry in the commonplace—reading for a morning, changing the seasonal bedding, making bagel chips, cleaning the travel hatbox—we just don’t see it; “perfect miracles, each as profound as any.”

I spy God!
 
 
 
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Award-winning author Karen Mains has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk. She has written about the God Hunt in her book by the same name, The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase and the Wonder of Being Found. A hardback copy can be ordered from Mainstay Ministries for $10.00 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. Contact Karen at info@mainstayministries.org and she will be happy to autograph a copy for you.

Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, "Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains." In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.

Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags, Africa bags. This microfinance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.

For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. The are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.

Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
 
 
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