My eldest son is a graphic designer, and I saw it coming when he was a little boy.

He loved to pick up his crayons to color and draw…on the blank slate in the hallway. Let me rephrase that…on the wall in the hallway. His imagination was always in full gear and that blank, white wall was too inviting. It became his canvas.

One day I walked down the hall and spotted it. “Not the place son, let’s wash it off.” After a lengthy scrubbing session,  warning and correction, I assumed he had learned his lesson. Silly me. His three-year old mind somehow did not grasp the fact that he was not to draw or color on ANY wall in the house.

You guessed it. Two days later, in the living room, almost behind the couch…another masterpiece.

“Son, I need to see you for a minute.” No answer. “Sweetie, come and talk to Mommy.” Still no three-year old. I starting searching the house to no avail. I went in the baby’s room to see if he had taken up residence in his brother’s crib. Guess who was under the crib! He knew he had done something, yet I had not yelled or given him any indication in my voice that anything was wrong. He just knew he had “sinned” and was hiding from his mommy.

Turns out I have done that before. I have messed up, missed the mark, “sinned” and did not want God to find me. I tried to ignore him, I did not talk to Him, I did not want to hear what He had to say to me. I was afraid He was mad at me and that I was going to get in trouble. The longer I stayed away, the easier it became to forget what I had done…or so I thought.

I still remembered my “sin” and there was absolutely no comfort in that. Since I had shut off the comforter, I ended up wallowing in it all. Talk about miserable. That is not the life in abundance. I had forgotten about the grace of God.

Have you been running from the Father? You might have squandered your inheritance, left home or even colored on the wall….no worries…the Father is waiting with open arms.

My little guy was found. “Sorry Mommy… that crayon just kept going…will you still love me forever?” “Yes honey, I will love you forever.

Run into His arms now beloved….

~Be Encouraged Today~

Tammy