As youth and young adult ministers in various capacities over the past 15 years, my husband and I have had the great joy of mentoring many hearts through one-on-one discipleship and faith studies, and through leading them in worship through music. Over the years, we have noticed a recurring language in the Christian world when speaking of one's spiritual journey. People are often described as “searching for God” or as “finally having found God”. Though this way of looking at someone's spiritual life is true in many ways, it can be problematic because it can lead us to believe that our God is a distant and disinterested God. The idea that we are the ones that have to “find God” can make it sound as if God is aloof to our need for Him and only turns to us once we have spent a certain amount of effort to locate His whereabouts and tap Him on the shoulder. In my own spiritual life, I often get frustrated when I come to prayer and try to “find” God in the amount of time I have set aside for prayer each day. I open the Bible and put pressure on myself to conjure up some beautiful moment of consolation from the readings, and I feel disappointed when my efforts seem fruitless. On those days, it is tempting to think that God did not meet me in prayer and I’ll have to try harder to find Him next time. Of course, this is far from the truth! If we remember the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7), we know that God is the one searching for us, and we are doing the hiding! The sheep has lost her way, and the Good Shepherd sets out to guide her back home. I can imagine myself as that little sheep, clumsily running around, every which way, trying to find my way by my own efforts. But then, all I really need to do is stay still, and the Good Shepherd can easily embrace me and carry me back home. I want to challenge you today to come to prayer and simply let God “find” you wherever you happen to be. Allow Him to find all your worries, wounds, hopes, dreams, joys, and struggles. All those little areas of your heart that are tempted to run away. Allow Him to simply embrace them with His healing arms. Let go of any desire to “perform” for Him, catch His attention, or find Him, for He is already right there with you.

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Kathleen LeBlanc lives in Brantford, Ontario, with her husband, Jesse LeBlanc, and their one-year-old son, Noah. Formerly a youth and young adult minister, Kathleen is now a “stay-at-home-mama” and leads worship with her husband in their band previously called, A Guy and a Girl. They recently changed their band name to Found Together, after reflecting on the themes described in the blog above. They are embarking on a new chapter in their music ministry, passionate about helping people on their journey to allow God to find them, fully and vulnerably, so that He can bring them home as great saints. They are currently crowdfunding for their new music ministry and would love your support! For more info, visit www.wearefoundtogether.com and follow them on Instagram and Facebook @WeAreFoundTogether