Hidden in Plain Sight

I love the joy of discovery. I am just drawn to the thrill of finding something new and particularly unusual. There are several items that I like to collect and one of them is beautiful and interesting picture frames. One of my hobbies is stitching and I am absolutely obsessive about finding the perfect frame and doing the mounting and framing myself. No framing shop for me. I consider it a personal defeat if I don’t accomplish this part of the process on my own. I have found frames in out of the way stores, discount tables and garage sales. I have bought framed art and removed the work and kept the frame. What to you might sound like an awful lot of trouble is to me an adventure in discovery. When I find that perfect frame to the piece that I have just finished, I will immediately head over to Starbucks to pick up my triumphant cup of mocha latte to celebrate my conquest. I know what you are thinking, this girl needs help.

Every year, our family celebrates Passover in the typical Jewish tradition. While I am not Jewish, my husband is, and we have kept this celebration in tact over the years. Passover is my most favorite holiday that we enjoy each year and I do mean enjoy. Passover is meant to be a celebration and a successful seder (the meal) is marked more by laughter then by anything else. The Passover isn’t just a meal it is an experience. It is a time that we spend together to remind us of God’s mighty deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt. Tradition teaches that in each generation, we must consider ourselves as having personally been freed from Egypt. It is accomplished mainly by re-telling this story every year through the use of a Haggadah (which means “the telling”). As we work our way through the Haggadah there are several opportunities to interact with the story. One is the Afikomen.

Midway through the story our attention is drawn to a plate on which rests three matzot. There are various explanations for this ceremony. The rabbis call these three a “unity”. Some consider it a unity of the patriarchs-Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Others explain it as a unity of worship – the priests, the Levites, and the people of Israel. We who know Messiah see this unity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At this time in the seder, the middle matzoh is broken and wrapped in a cloth. The children are now instructed to cover their eyes as the leader hides the afikomen. You can easily see the parallel of Messiah in that broken bread and then hidden in a tomb.

But just as Messiah reappears, so does the afikomen. Near the close of the seder, the children are told to go look for the hidden matzoh and here is the point of this post…it is usually hidden in plain sight. We don’t want to make it hard for them to find, our desire is for them, to indeed, discover it. I think God is so much like that in our lives. I think that He is hidden in plain sight but my question would be are we seeking to find Him? Scripture says that when we seek Him we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart (Jer 29:13) I can guarantee you that these children are seeking out that afikomen with all of their hearts, because there is always a reward for whoever finds it. Oh how I love the rewards of discovering God in the midst of life.

So, how does my obsession with frame stalking have to do with this fun Passover tradition? Last Christmas, I was franticly trying to find the right frame for a piece that I had done for my mom. I was despondent (after all there was a deadline) and I thought I would never find one since it was of such an unusual size. When one day, I looked up and right there on my wall was the perfect sized frame for that piece. It was there all along…hidden in plain sight.

I believe that God is present in our lives whether we immediately recognize He is there or not. Why not ask Him to reveal Himself to you today?

Do you have a hidden in plain sight story?