Hiding in Plain Sight

Hide-and-seek is one of my favorite games as a mom. Crouching down in my favorite hiding spot, keeping my breath as quiet and controlled as possible, I try to fade into the background and make myself invisible. I get such a thrill when I suck in my breath as my kids walk into the darkened room, anticipating their shriek of excitement as they discover my hiding place. Or, if I happen to get lucky, I get to exhale in relief as they exit the room and I remain undiscovered.

Then there are times in life hiding is not at all fun. We hope just as desperately we are not discovered, but this hiding game is much lonelier. We walk around with smiles that keep others from asking questions, steer conversations away from certain topics, laugh at all the right times, keep busy, and do our best to fade into the background. 

We hide in plain sight.

When our eight-year-old daughter came to the breakfast table with her hood over her head for the third day in a row, my husband’s narrowed eyes met mine, and we carefully began to draw her out of hiding. We lovingly convinced her to allow us to push back her hood and discovered an enormous golden-brown pile of tangles. It took all of our self-control not to gasp at the sight of it. Tears spilled out onto her over-sized sweatshirt from both the shame and relief of being discovered, and we held her tight.

“It started with just a few tangles, but I didn’t want to take the time to brush them. It just hurts too much,” she explained. “But it got worse and worse, and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want anyone to see. So I just put my hood up.” 

Me too, sweet girl… We can understand this, can’t we, friend? There are so many of us walking around just like this. What starts with just “a few tangles” gets out of control, and it becomes overwhelming. So we put our hoods up. We don’t want anyone to see our tangled messes, so we hide in plain sight. 

As I sat on the floor with her, we slowly tackled one tangle at a time, and I could picture Jesus doing just as I was doing. When we pull back our hoods to uncover our tangled messes, He simply sits with us, gently and slowly taking out our tangles. I could almost hear Him say “Come to me all you who are hiding. Sit with Me, hear My words of love and reassurance, as I take out one tangle at a time.”

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). 

Hiding in plain sight is far more exhausting than it sounds. The unresolved conflicts, fear, unforgiveness, addictions we have labeled “not as bad as other addictions,” bitterness, grief and loss we haven’t taken time to process, or other unhealed parts of our hearts become heavy and keep us from living freely. Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off anything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…”

We aren’t meant to walk around with our burdens weighing us heavy or our hidden tangles keeping us from engaging with others. We are meant to be free – free from anything that slows us down or harms our relationships.

Our daughter felt so free when her tangles were gone. It certainly wasn’t easy. There were tears and sometimes she would hold onto the tangles so I couldn’t brush. But little by little, we worked through them together. And when it was done, her smile came easier, her eyes were brighter, and she got up from the floor and seemed taller than before. 

Staying hidden and undiscovered is only good if we are playing hide-and-seek with children. Jesus urges us to come sit at His feet where we can work out our tangles with Him. “And you will find rest for your souls…”