Chloe and Cole are not very good at hide and seek. We played the game in the house the other day. I told them to go hide somewhere and I would be "it." I told them I would count to 20, then come looking for them. If I found them, I won. If I didn't find them, they won.

I closed my eyes and started counting slowly to 20, smiling as I heard them scurrying around. When I reached 20 and opened my eyes, I found Chloe within a matter of seconds hiding just inside the door of the adjoining room. She was less than 10 feet away from where I had been sitting. I found Cole behind the couch, on the other side of the same room.

I explained to them that they could hide anywhere in the house — they were free to go into another room if they wanted to. I sat down, closed my eyes and started counting again. Once again, I smiled as I heard them whispering much louder than they realized they were, discussing possible hiding places. "The closet!" "Under the bed!" "In the bathtub!"

When I opened my eyes, I checked the obvious places around the room. Then I moved down the hallway, toward the back of the house.

I guess I took too long, because as I checked the washroom I heard, "Aaaaahhhhh!" behind me. I looked up to see Cole coming straight at me from the doorway of his bedroom. "Here I am, Daddy! Here I am!" he laughed.

Then I heard a small voice calling out, "Daddy! I'm in my room! Come find me!" I walked into Chloe's room, only to discover a mysterious lump beneath her bed spread. I grabbed its center and wiggled my fingers, hearing Chloe scream and laugh as I tickled her.

I thought about sitting them down and explaining once again the fundamentals of hide and seek: They hide, I seek. Yet just as I was about to suggest it, something occurred to me: they liked being found.

They could hide - their earlier discussions about hiding places proved that. But what they really liked, what they reveled in, was being found by their father.

I know what they mean. I've done my fair share of running and hiding from God. I'm so glad he never gave up seeking. He sought me, he found me and he saved me (Luke 19:10).

There's true joy in being found.

Parrish Myers is a local minister. His column appears biweekly in Sunday Life and on gainesvilletimes.com/life.