By Dr James Dobson
The game “Hide and seek” is fun for kids, but many adults play a hiding game that’s really not much fun at all.
I recently saw a fascinating story in The Seattle Times. The headline read, “Sixty Years in Hiding for World War Two Soldiers?” Two former Japanese military men, now in their late-80s, had presumably been hiding in the remote mountains of the Philippines since 1945!
These two aren’t the only World War II diehards. In the 1970s, Japanese soldiers emerged from jungles and caves on several different islands, after years of eating frogs and rats, and weaving clothes from tree bark.
As astonishing as that sounds, I’m equally amazed to learn about the hidden lives of “respectable” people in my community, and in yours.
These are the same smiling faces that you see at work, at church, or in the supermarket. It’s shocking to learn that they’ve been hiding an addiction, or a secret sin, a dysfunction, or extramarital affair. These secrets will eventually rip a family to shreds, or even lead to violence or suicide.
Tormented souls need not hide out in jungles and caves anymore. Help is available from counsellors and pastors, and there are some wonderful support groups out there. Of course, it will take courage to come out of hiding, but that’s how healing begins.
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