8 places god hides "easter eggs"

I've always enjoyed watching my kids look for objects that I have hidden, from colored Easter eggs to treasure hunt clues. Though my "treasures" were never all that valuable, the thrill for them, of course, was in finding the object before their siblings did — or in the case of candy, finding more of it. 

       Naturally, the older kids always had a big advantage, so my fatherly inclination to help the younger would kick in. After all, no parent wants to see his kid wind up sad and empty-handed. But I wasn't about to just hand ​them the candy. They had to seek. As long as they were really trying, I would make sure they were rewarded in the end.
       The Bible has a lot to say to me about 'seeking'. It tells me over and over that I am to seek Him— His face, His ways, wisdom, counsel, peace, His kingdom, righteousness,  "the treasures that are above", etc.  I am to do this earnestly (Hebrews 11:6) and with all my heart (Jeremiah 29:13).  In others words, my Father doesn't just want to hand me everything; He knows that I will benefit more by getting into the game. His goal for me isn't merely that I get easy stuff.  He wants me to be a seeker and a finder. 
       In the six decades that I have been getting to know God, I've learned a few things about 'seeking and finding.' I've discovered a few of His choice hiding spots — places where it hadn't crossed my mind to look before. Nowadays I try to look more carefully with my eyes wide open, because it is in obscure hiding spots like these that I have discovered some real gems... 

1. At a discouraging convention. On October 12, 2011 I was feeling very low. I had gone out on a financial limb by exhibiting at a three-day booksellers convention far from home, and by every indication the event was an utter failure. Back in my hotel room, tears blurred my view of the baseball game on TV. "God, are You with me?" I cried. I heard a TV voice announcing the next batter, a weak number 9 hitter who was in the biggest batting slump of his career. Out loud I prayed a crazy prayer: "Lord, if You are with me, let this guy hit a home run right now." Instantly, the announcer's voice shouted, "There's a long drive to deep left field!" The very second the prayer left my lips Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers, the least likely person on the field, tied up the game with one swing of the bat. I have no memory of the rest of the game. I only know that my loving God was willing to stoop to my silly terms to lift me up when I called to Him in desperation.  
2. On a bed of pain. In 2014, a debilitating condition in my nervous system left me bedridden with excruciating pain for nearly four months. What did God let me find in that bed? Not only the grace to endure, but fresh perspective and insights to write three new books while lying there: "The ABCs of God", "God Paints the World", and "God Loves the World".
3. On a busy freeway.  In March 2005, while traveling to the funeral of my dear nephew Jonathan, my mind was unexpectedly flooded with most of the text to the book "There's a Party in Heaven."
4. Under a semi-truck.  On March 8, 1986 Jan and I found ourselves pinned underneath an eighteen-wheeler for 30 minutes, part of a 17-vehicle pileup on icy Michigan roads. The top half of our vehicle was sheered right off, but miraculously neither of us suffered any injuries. What we found? A renewed love for each other, and an unbroken little bulb from our taillight — exactly like another we had saved eight years earlier after another serious accident (neither of us were driving that time). We saved both bulbs as reminders of how our fragile lives are in the hands of our Maker and Protector.
5. In a cold, dark woodshed.  In the winter of 1979-80, bitter Midwest blizzards kept me swinging an ax morning and night to feed the little potbellied stove that struggled to keep my young family warm in our drafty 1880's farmhouse. What did God have waiting for me inside that woodshed? Many sweet conversations, spontaneous songs of joy, parenting tips, answers to important questions, guidance for our future, invigorating exercise, and His wonderful provision.
6. In a lonely attic. In 1976 as a single young adult in a secluded third-floor bedroom, I collected countless nuggets of wisdom from the writings of obscure, godly men and women; and my perspective was tweaked as the Holy Spirit listened to the deep longings of my heart that I whispered only to Him.
7. At a dried up river bed. In August 1974 while hiking the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia, I found myself  extremely thirsty with an empty canteen as darkness set in after a 20-mile forest hike. The water our guide book promised us was not to be found. I raised my head and called up through the trees, asking the Good Shepherd to lead us to water. He did, to a completely different stream that did not appear not on the map.
8. In waiting rooms. More times than I can recall I have found surprises in E.R.s and clinics. Sometimes, what seemed like certain sorrow turned into inexpressible joy. Other times, sorrow was met with a grace for which God was the only explanation.

        God hides goodies for His kids in the strangest places. They may be tucked away in a checkout line, an old coat pocket, a ditch, a rain gutter, or in the comment of an annoying co-worker. They might be waiting for us at a restaurant, a theater, an ATM, or a compost pile.  The value lies not only in the discovery, but also in the seeking, for this is where the heart is prepared for the treasure.
       What special treasures from God have you found in odd places?  I would love to hear about them!