whispers in the dark

About a year ago, my daughter, Megan, and I played hide and seek with Mikaela and Eli.  When we first started playing, Megan and Eli, who was 4 at the time, were partners and Mikaela was my partner.

When Megan and Eli were hiding, we didn’t have a very hard time locating them. Mikaela and I just had to listen carefully and we could usually hear Eli’s little voice whispering. Or a giggle. Or both.

There was even a few times that I had spotted their hiding place right off and tried to act like I didn’t see them. I would call out, “Mikaela, I don’t think they are in here!” and Eli’s precious little voice would say, “Look in the closet!” So, you see, it wasn’t very hard to find Megan and Eli. It was funny to me because it just seemed like he wanted to be found. He just couldn’t stand it if we didn’t find him quick enough. He would help us out and give us hints while still in hiding.

When it was my turn to have Eli for my partner, I was determined to keep that little fella quiet! I even told him that we had to be very quiet and still so his mama and sister couldn’t find us.

As we were hiding in the back corner of Melissa’s closet, we were behind a row of long white bags of formal gowns. We were well hidden from sight in the dark closet. We had found a perfect hiding place. We waited for them to come find us and we were very still and very quiet.

Suddenly in the darkness this little voice whispers to me, “Nana?”. Quickly I whispered back to him, “Eli, we have to be quiet”. A silent hush filled the darkness and then…

This sweet little voice whispered, “But Nana, I love you”. As my heart melted and filled with unspeakable joy and love, I whispered back, “Oh, precious, I love you too”.

You see, Eli just wanted that reassurance in the dark that love was there. He just wanted that reassurance that he wasn’t alone. He desired some communication with me. He needed to hear my voice.

When we are ensconced in the deep darkness of our time alone with God, we too, long for that revelation of His love for us. We long to know that we aren’t alone. We long to hear His voice. We long for some sort of reminder that He is with us.

We revel in the quiet as we seek Him. We bask in the glory of His definite presence. We savor that sweet oneness that we feel as we commune with Him. We take joy in the intimacy we feel as we meet with Him in the dark recesses of our closets.

And then we long to hear. We long to know. We can’t help ourselves. Our voices whisper in the dark.

“I love you, Lord.”

And in the quiet darkness we hear Him say, “Oh my precious child. I love you, too.”

And then we have peace.

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

O Lord, hear my voice.." (Psalm 130:1,2a)