On spring break of March 2005, in Breckenridge, Colorado, Osama bin Laden shared the ski lift chair with me.

I know it was him. His unmistakable large brown eyes, beard, and the shape of his head convinced me. That day, his head was covered with a ski cap, although normally his head would be covered with a turban. I was so startled to see him that I did not say much, but instead I wondered how we would fare if the lift stopped in mid-air. This sighting of him did not seem very unlikely to me, because I often thought the easiest place to hide was in plain sight. To me this meant, America. Also, back in my artist heyday, I was a portrait artist. I’m drawn to the study of faces, and his face was unmistakable. When I got off the lift, I told my family, but they just laughed at me. It did not dissuade me. I’m used to this response.

A writer’s imagination is a force to be reckoned with,  however, this concept of hiding in plain sight is often more true than we care to admit.

Consider this. Sometimes the love of our life is right in front of us. Alternatively, sometimes the person with the worst possible influence over our life life is disguised beautifully by our own deceptive vision. We get mixed up and stay loyal to wrong people and things and run away from what is good for us.

Why is it so hard to recognize the difference between good and bad on our own?

Maybe we need an ally to help us keep truth close and prompt us to do more honest thinking.

Doesn’t it just make sense to trust in someone who is all-knowing and  never deceives or lies, and has more power than our human self is a better strategy for living whole than relying on our faulty perceptions?

So let me stop speaking in hidden terms. I’m saying I’d rather trust in God—someone who is greater than I am. I’d rather use His guidance found in the Bible to evaluate my honesty than to come up with my own faulty set of perceptions and abilities.

Frankly, I’m just not that good at deciphering life’s challenges on my own. I’ve got a tendency to mix things up.

King David, the Bible Psalm writer seemed to think this way, too. His enemies were all around. Much of his life was spent dodging “bullets,” but he knew what was in plain sight.
Here are a few of his phrases about God found in Psalms, chapter 63:1, 7, and 8.

“O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek you; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You in a dry and weary land where no water is.
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice. My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

So I’m going to ask myself today, “Ann, what’s hiding in plain sight of you?”

Then I’m gonna tell myself to get whatever it is quickly to the light of God’s word so I can make proper sense of it!