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 was chastising myself that I hadn’t finished the last draft of the Dominican Republic script we had filmed in February and not sent off to the videographer. This is the first film shoot I have ever directed and since it was a budget film, David and I were the scriptwriters, and David the on-camera host. I was not only the director, but made the notes and script changes that a DA (director’s assistant would normally make).
Since returning in February, I’ve been making all those rounds of physical checkups that I had literally neglected for six years. I signed myself up with a new medical group, researched the Medicare allotments for physicals (read TIME magazine’s expose on hospital costs, “The Bitter Pill”) and acted as a good consumer by asking: “How much will this cost and how much will Medicare pay?” before I showed up for my examinations and tests. I still have one or two more tests to make appointments for—my thyroid needs examining and somewhere I lost the blood test order—but considering that I have avoided all this for quite a few years, I am beginning to feel virtuous about the physical side of taking responsibility for my health.
We researched nearby dentists who used our dental insurance (my dentist is retiring), and I actually drove past their offices to choose one with the most aesthetic-looking environment. I wanted an office in West Chicago, filled with lots of Hispanics and a dentist who was interested in getting to know his patients some.
I fit in one book research week to California in March and caught up on all the office lists that had been neglected because of Christmas, and two Dominican trips, one in January and the last one for a documentary film shoot.
We had Easter for fifteen people and my daughter and I shared the duties, then David and I turned around and made our way to Maine for a few days together before we headed into all what appears to be an over-active spring schedule.
The uncompleted script kept nagging at me somewhere in a far back quadrant of my mind. However, the day we stayed home, Monday after Easter, flying out on Tuesday instead, an e-mail passed my desk, and I realized that my videographer was out of town and would not be returning until a week after we came home from Maine. I pulled the file of notes, and shoot lists, and script revisions and left it on my desk.
Somehow, my good God knew that David and I needed the quiet of a few days in a beautiful environment. We read and watched television and explored the little towns of Rockland, Rockport and Camden Maine.
Even coming home with a cold, even with days where I lazed in bed and slept off the effects of an infection, I still had two days to work on the script; one day for initial edits, and the next day for fine-combing corrections, editions, deletions and coordinating the schedule list with the final script.
What a gift! I think God is in these intimate scheduling details of our lives. He intervenes and helps us when we don’t know how to help ourselves. The relief I felt at not having to work, or to be productive on vacation was wonderful. Then to know that I had plenty of time to do a good job when I returned even deepened my feeling of release from anxiety.
“I will give thanks to you, for you answered me, and have become my salvation.”
—Psalm 118:21
I breathe a prayer like this Psalm over all the days of my life. From day to day He is my salvation.
I spy God!
————————————————————————————–
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.