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 everyday occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
I have an allergy I’m pretty sure is due to dust. If I plunk down in a chair where the upholstery hasn’t been dusted, I’ll go off in paroxysms of coughing and sneezing and of semi-violent blowings of my nose. When the air circulates through the vents in the car, I experience the same thing. I keep boxes and packets of tissues handy—because sooner or later, probably sooner, I will need them.
This allergy comes and goes; usually I suffer for about three weeks to a month, then it calms itself down and I’m back to normal—such a relief, because the allergy is always accompanied by an annoying cough—hack-hack-hack—that feels unrelenting. My adult children monitor my disability—“Mom, when are you going to have that checked out?” Since I self-cure and can go for a month or so between episodes, and since a doctor who examined me when I walked into a critical-care center without an appointment proclaimed it an allergy, I don’t think much about it. If I go to bed for most of a day, do deep-breathing exercises for that bed day, pray for my body with calming prayers, I can shake the allergy, but most of the time, I don’t have a day to make myself allergy-clear.
This last month has been particularly troublesome. My daughter and her family have moved into a renovated barn with a horse stable and 18 acres of marshland. We bought a portable vacuum that I can carry with me as I climb a ladder up to the rafters that haven’t been dusted for decades (I’m sure) set off my allergies big time (next time I’ll wear a breathing mask). I hacked, I hawed, I drained, I sneezed, I seized, I achooed, I blew, my eyes watered.
The allergic reaction was so intense that I think it set me up for a cold and for a week, I couldn’t tell what was viral, bacterial or what was allergy. I also am the type of person who takes as little medication as possible, so Dayquil was about my limit. Too much of anything pharmaceutical and I hear the train go through downtown West Chicago at one, at two, at three, and at four throughout the night.
I kept praying that God would heal me, dry me up, give me a miraculous intervention of some kind so that I could speak twice to separate groups for my Memphis meetings. “Would you like some Claritin?” asked my observant hostess. For the sake of my listeners, I popped a tablet and sailed through both meetings without a cough, blow, hack or sneeze. (This could also be because my hostess’ home was exceptionally clean and dust-free, but I think it had a lot to do with the medications.)
Upon returning, I swiped my hostess’ box of Claritins and told her in a thank-you note of my crime. I am down to one tablet and almost symptom-free. Sometimes, frail person that I am, I just need to accept the fact that God provides healing and help in ways that I might not normally choose for myself.
Until I can guarantee that all our upholstery will be vacuumed weekly, that I won’t be tromping around in dusty places, that nothing molecular or irritating to my system will blow out of car vents, then I think I need to bow to the inevitable, run to Walgreens and thank God for the gifts He gives in His ways.
I’m not sleeping all that great, but it isn’t coughing fits that are keeping me awake. What I spend on over-the-counter pills, I’ll save by not using up so many Kleenex boxes. Right now, I’m cough-free, sneeze-free and breathing easy. This is a gift of God. “My mouth is filled with praise…” Psalm 71:8.
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 micro-finance 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. They 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.
