Gabby has really started to enjoy playing Peekaboo. It's an easy game to play. I hide behind a wall, napkin, pillow, or anything else I can find. Then, I stick my face out and shout "Peekaboo." She laughs, and my heart melts!
Come to find out, this is a very good sign that she's developing fine motor skills. More specifically, she's grasping object permanence.
According to developmental psychologists, object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. In other words, when dad goes into hiding behind the pillow, he hasn't actually gone anywhere. Object permanence is one of an infant's most important discoveries, because without it, a person or object has no separate or permanent existence.
This is also one of the most important discoveries that a new Christian can make. You come to the realization that God exists even when He can't be seen, heard, or touched. When God's activity in your life transcends your five senses, and you're unable to detect His movements, faith kicks in to reassure you that He hasn't gone anywhere.
Faith isn't unnatural or weird. It's as fundamental to the development of spiritual motor skills as the enjoyment of peekaboo is to a baby.
The next time you start to worry because God seems hidden, grow into spiritual maturity and wait in faith. Then you'll get to light up with joy when He finally jumps out from behind the wall and reveals Himself!
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