(Not) Hide-and-Seek
Then the Lord said, “When my glory passes you by, I will hide you in a cleft in the rock. There you will be safe.” – Exodus 33:22 (adapted)
In an interview with The New York Times, artist Maya Lin said, “‘What I am interested in is, quite literally, grounding you in what might be right below your feet that you might not be aware of.’ Then [Lin] captured the bedrock on the exterior wall of the skyscraper Chase Manhattan built at the block between Madison and Park Avenue, called a ‘A Parallel Nature.’” (The New York Times, May 13, 2026)
If you have ever played hide-and-seek, you know you must find a good hiding place, one simultaneously hard and easy to find. Something that parallels nature. Right there but unseen.
My two-year-old grandchild arrived at the Airbnb and went straight to an open closet, added books and a blanket, and hid himself. He both hid and looked out from that protected place, his back against the closet wall, ensconced and cozied.
When God says God will protect us as God’s glory passes by, God is not playing hide-and-seek. God is playing presence: I’ll be there. When God says God will ensconce us in a rock, God is saying we may have our back against the wall, but we can still see out. When God says God will make us safe, God will make us safe.
God will bring up from our grail the resources we need for our trail. God grounds us in what might be hidden, in a parallel nature, right next to us. God is as glorious as a high-rise Manhattan building, parallel to the rock called Ages.
Prayer
Give us a rock-solid place, O God, in which we can parallel cozy and observant, be alone and still connected to notice everything we need. Amen.
About the AuthorDonna Schaper is an interim Pastor at the United Church of Gainesville, Florida, and author, most recently of Remove the Pews—first from your theology, then from your building.