Slugbug!

You may have made it several years as a kid before you were introduced to the game "Slugbug!" (or some call it "Punchbug"). If you're not familiar, this is a game where your brothers / cousins / friends, while passengers in the same vehicle, look for VW beetles.
The prize for being the first to spot the car is the pleasure of slugging your competitor in the shoulder. Hard.

This game became more difficult to play in the 90's prior to the release of the new beetle. And to think that if the new beetle didn't come out the game may have died along with it.

Before the game you didn't see any of these VW bugs. Anywhere. Or at least not as many. Once the game started, they were everywhere. So if you were lucky enough to spot it first, you got to be the puncher. If you were slow, well your shoulder reminded how many VW beetles were on the road that day.

And just because you didn't see them before doesn't mean that the cars weren't on the road; you just didn't see them.

The same could be said for God's presence in the world. Once you start looking for it you will see it. And just because you didn't see it before doesn't mean it wasn't always there.

I wonder sometimes what our adopted kid's slugbugs are - what are those things that she is pre-conditioned to look for; anger, violence, yelling, arguing, physical abuse. No matter how far away she is from the game she has the sore shoulder to continually remind her that slugbugs are out there. Even though they don't make those cars where she lives now. Maybe over time she will stop looking and the ache will go away.