Runaway Fail

One day when I was about four, I packed my little polka dotted travel case with a pair of clean underwear and my toothbrush.  When mom was sidetracked with something, I snuck out the door and headed down the street. I navigated to the block behind our house and settled down in a ditch in front of someone’s house. I don’t remember what mom had done to upset me, but I was certain I would be better off on my own. As I sat on the grassy incline of the ditch, I realized my older brothers would walk this route home when they got out of school and might rat me out.

A little rain had collected in the ditch, so I thought it would be a good idea to brush my teeth while I had access to water. Then I could walk a little further and find a better hiding place. But by the time I put my toothbrush back in my suitcase, the reality of life on the streets had hit me with crushing gravity. I jumped up and ran all the way home. I snuck back in the house quietly and unpacked, certain that mom didn’t even know I had been missing. She didn’t say a word about it. Years later, I learned that she knew everything, short of the muddy dental hygiene.

My runaway failure was a cute four year old life lesson. The real stories about kids running away from home break my heart. The difficulties that children and teens go through leading up to a runaway decision is not something I can pretend to know much about. And the unbearable worry their parents must experience wondering where they are is a pain that I can only imagine.

My heavenly father has never wondered where I was. Even in the times I ran away from Him, I knew I  was not hidden from Him.

The prophet, Jeremiah, must have known that feeling when he heard God say:

‘Am I only a God nearby,’ declares the LORD, ‘and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the LORD. [Jeremiah 23:23-24 ESV]

King David had that aha moment as well.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,

Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. [Psalm 139:7-10 ESV]

So running from God must be the ultimate runaway fail. We can run from Him, but we can’t hide from Him. He knows exactly where we are. And there He is too. What a good good Father!