That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love. Colossians 2:2

Dennis Rainey

One of our favorite games that our children absolutely loved playing was Reverse Hide and Seek. We’d turn out all the lights in our house. Then, instead of having one person look for everyone else, one person hid and all the others would try to find him or her. When you located the hidden person, you would quietly slip into the same space to hide with him or her. The game would keep going until only one person was left seeking all the others in a pitch black, totally silent house.

It wasn’t easy being the last man standing. Swiftly, the house would become very quiet and still. All you could hear was the sound of your own panting and your appeals for everyone to show themselves. But usually, the giggles and snickers of seven people huddling in the bathtub or under a table would give away their location. When the last person finally joined the crowd, it was a huge relief—almost like a family reunion, full of laughter, hugs and silly recaps of the highlights.

What a picture of how marriage and family relationships ought to be. Rather than allowing anyone to isolate himself or herself, we should seek each other out, huddle together and reconfirm the fact that we’re sharing life together. No one’s going it alone. Not in this house.

So I’m appointing you today to the office of Seeker. I challenge you to commit yourself to watching for signs of isolation in each other and in your children. Sure, there are times when we all need our space—the opportunity to pray and process things. But always stay sensitive to the first feelings of distance that creep into your relationship.

Don’t let it stay quiet for long. Go on the prowl. Look behind the curtains. Pursue one another and God, together.

Discuss

Is there any hiding going on in your home? Any isolation? Talk about how you should seek out one another.

Pray

Pray that you will know when your spouse or a child is withdrawing into isolation and that you will know what to do.