Saturday, June 21, 2008

but now i'm found

bene daye. she is a sweet reminder of God's love for me, all wrapped up in a beautiful, brown-skinned, blue-eyed darling.
everyday, for the past four weeks, she hides when she hears demetrius pull down our street. we hear the rumble of his engine, and suddenly, the house is filled with shrieking, giggling and little feet tearing through the house to find the perfect hiding spot. she can hardly contain herself and keep quiet when he comes through the door and he grins because he knows the routine. but the sweetness of it all, is in her excitement to see him, to be near him. he walks from room to room, pretending he has no idea where she is, though he's walked right past the giddy, ghost-shaped blanket in the corner of the room. she can barely contain herself, knowing that he is right there, she is almost found. "daddy, i'm in here!", she yells, realizing he has left the room to look for her. she wants so desperately to be found by him. and when she is, the smile on her face is like nothing i could ever do for her. it's him. only daddy.
she still has the innocence of a child, unclouded by the insecurities and shame that so often come with the territory of being a girl. i hide for all the wrong reasons. fear of being known, fear of rejection, fear of failure. but my Father is pursuing me just the same. He is always searching for me, yet knows my exact location. i cannot hide from Him. He is always there, waiting for me to invite Him to find me.

2 comments:

betsy clark said...

Beautiful, beautiful illustration God gives right before our eyes of His precious relationship with us! Have you read "Captivating" by Stacy Eldredge?
I love your ponderings here girl! You are beautiful!

Stephanie Ponder said...

yes! it's one of my favorites. i would love to do a bible study on it and go a bit deeper but the words of that book speak right to the center of me. it was terrifying for me to know that our first child was a girl because i have struggled for so much of my life with "girly" issues...insecurity, low self-esteem, ridiculous feelings of shame that made no sense, etc, etc... but i am a work in progress and hope to give bene daye a running start and know the REAL truth before she is too wounded by the world and it's judgements.
we HAVE to get together!!! what does this week look like for you? we are pretty flexible. maybe we could get the whole families together this weekend if a weekday doesn't work.
love you, betsy. you are stunning!!!