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:
At the border, on our way to meet some 17 people at the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, we stopped at the customs booth between the U.S. and Canada. “Oh, oh,” I said to David. “We’ve picked the wrong line.” The car ahead of us was delayed for an unusually long time.
“Nationality?” questioned the Canadian customs official as I eased the car to the window. “We’re all U.S. citizens.” I could tell this was a man determined to be official; all my attempts at charm would be lost on him. “Destination?” For 30 years we had answered “the Shakespeare Festival in Stratford,” and usually, that was enough to ensure a minimal border pause.
“Whose child is in the back seat?” he demanded. “Our grandson,” I replied, thinking this man certainly could not refuse the charms of Landis Mains, a handsome 9-year-old. The next question, however, threw me. “Do you have a birth certificate?” For years we have been crossing this border with our own children, of all ages and sizes, and never needed to prove their parentage or nationality! I was dumbfounded.
Visions of being stalled endlessly flashed in my brain; then the scenario of trying to reach my son and daughter-in-law three time-zones away, seeing if they could find the original certificate, then hurry to a Kinko’s or drugstore and fax it to some hostile office along the border. A quick mortifying picture flashed in my brain, of 18 people arriving in Stratford, wondering where their hosts, David and Karen Mains, could possibly be.
Suddenly, a little voice spoke up from the back seat. “A birth certificate? I have a birth certificate.” This couldn’t possibly be true. Did Landis actually mean a birth certificate?
“Landis,” said his grandfather. “Do you have a birth certificate? Do you know where it is?” Landis scrambled into his bag in the back of the station wagon, unzipped a pocket, and whipped out the authenticating piece of paper. Hah! I thought, knowing by now that our adversary, the border-crossing guard, would have done anything to delay our journey. Hah! We have a birth certificate! The paper was passed through the window, examined and passed back.
We were waved through on the heels of the next half-second.
Talk about God Hunt Sightings! There were actually three in this little story. First, Landis’ parents had the presence of mind to copy a birth certificate for their son who would be flying as an unaccompanied minor from Tucson to Chicago. (Except he didn’t need it for his air flight; he needed it for the border.) Second, Landis actually remembered that he had a birth certificate. Third, he knew exactly where it was.
I spy God! Have you any children in your life? Teach them how to play the God Hunt, and then they will prove God to you. “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I will still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and grey hairs…” Psalm 71:17, 18.
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Award-winning author Karen Mains 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. 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.
Karen has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk and is the author of The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase & the Wonder of Being Found.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
