We looked everywhere. Every corner and cranny was turned upside down and inside out. There wasn’t a toybox left untouched. For several days, tears had been shed and prayer after prayer said in our attempt to find her. I even began questioning my husband about the run he had made to the donation center. Maybe Kitty found her way into the pile of clothes that were to be donated. I had gone to sleep every night wracking my brain, trying to figure out where that cat had gone, and each morning new search ideas greeted me with the sun! When Kitty was finally discovered in the hidden part of the recliner, there was so much rejoicing, and we said so many prayers of gratitude!
You see, Kitty is my daughter’s very first stuffed animal. From the first months of my daughter’s life to almost 10 years later, Kitty has been her faithful companion. She is the “stuffy” that has survived purge after stuffed animal purge. Kitty will be the one in the hope chest — every frayed ribbon gently placed in a memory box for my daughter to maybe one day pass on to her daughter.
I was reminded of our search for Kitty today as I sang a familiar song. “The more I seek You, the more I find You. The more I find You, the more I love You.” Papa God reminded me of just how hard we looked and longed to find that Kitty. As silly as it seems, what if I truly searched that diligently for the Father? What if every prayer, every cry of my heart was “I need You, Jesus. I want to find more and more of You”? What if my thoughts, morning and night, were consumed with finding Him, drawing close to Him, and just being in His presence?
In this difficult season of just feeling dry and idle, He challenged me to seek MORE after Him. Instead of resigning to living with an unsatisfied, constant yearning in my heart for more, He encouraged me to move out of that stagnant place into a place of wholeheartedly seeking Him. And the best part — He promises to be found! God isn’t sending us on a wild goose chase. He is a patient Father, waiting for us to give our full hearts in search of more of Him.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13 NIV).
“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV).
May our hearts’ cry be a constant yearning for more of Jesus. And what sweet, glad rejoicing when we find more and more of Him! Just as our hearts experienced great satisfaction in finding Kitty, how much more will our souls discover contentment as we seek and find more of our Jesus.
Pray with me: Jesus, we lay aside all that may be consuming our minds and hearts. We want to seek wholeheartedly after You and You alone. Thank you for always being there, waiting for us.
~ Allison Gardner
