by Joanie Butman
Early in quarantine my daughter and I decided to explore a nearby community. While driving around we noticed stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes popping up in the strangest of places: hanging from trees, peeking out of mailboxes, windows and flowerpots. It was a little creepy. Not having young children around, we weren’t aware of the Teddy Bear Hunt phenomenon spanning the globe. It felt more like a Twilight Zone experience until we went home and did some research.
The game is being played in countries around the world, from Australia to Japan to the United States. It’s like a scavenger hunt suited for social distancing: People put teddy bears and other stuffed animals in windows, on porches, in trees and on parked cars. Then, children go for walks or drives with their families and try to spot as many as they can.*
The concept is based on Michael Rosen’s children’s book, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. It’s an adventure story about a family going out looking for a bear and the hurdles they face along the way. Every time they reach an obstacle they chant, “Uh, oh. Can’t go around it. Can’t go over it, can’t go under it. Gotta go THROUGH it.” Eventually they come face to face with their prey and run home with the bear giving chase. The story concludes with the family safely locked in their home, snuggling in their comfortable bed, vowing never to venture out on a bear hunt again.
As with most children’s literature, there is a deeper message meant for more than entertainment. Life is one long bear hunt. As in the book, our obstacles come in all shapes and sizes, but each one provides an opportunity for growth. Our only choice is whether we rise to the challenge or retreat to the perceived safety of our homes cowering under the covers, prisoners of our own pain and fear.
As a child, I was consumed with fear. I wouldn’t go anywhere alone – not to the bathroom and definitely not down into the dark basement. The taunts from my siblings for being a ‘scaredy-cat’ forged a stubbornness (or neurosis) to deny my fear and present a courage that didn’t exist. However, since becoming a Christian, my fear of ‘scary’ obstacles has been replaced with increasing boldness that comes from the confidence that I am never alone. Christ promises in Matthew 28:20, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The bear I had to face was my own fear. I didn’t have to deny it. I couldn’t go around it, over it, or under it. I had to go THROUGH it and so will you – over and over and over. There are plenty of situations that evoke fear in this world. Covid and its byproducts may be at the forefront because we are experiencing them corporately, but the personal ones you were struggling with before this crisis still exist. How do you choose to face them? Chris Tomlin’s song Angel Armies has always been an excellent reminder that I am never alone in my struggle.
I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side
My life is an adventure with God, and His everlasting arms are my place of refuge in good times and bad. He walks me through life and carries me through suffering. Not around it, over it, or under it. Like the family in Rosen’s book, we go THROUGH it together and so can you if you so choose. Rosen’s family ran home safely, but in reality you can’t outrun a bear. Best to have a strategy in place before you meet one, which is why I choose to nurture my relationship with God. With Him I can do all things.
*https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/style/teddy-bear-scavenger-hunt.html