“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17:8).
Sometimes, I need a place to hide. A quiet place to pull my thoughts together. A place where no one can find me and ask me to do anything. A place where I can stay until my hurt feelings are better.
When I was a child, my grandmother had a large garden.
One tree in it was all bent over with its branches trailing on the ground. I would go there when I did not want anyone to find me. I would hide until I forgot about my hurt feelings. Sometimes, I would make-believe that I was a princess. I would imagine that the world was perfect, the way that I wanted it to be.
Adults get their feelings hurt, too, but we have fewer places to hide. We have too many responsibilities to stay home from work. We cannot hide when our children need to eat. There can be no day dreaming our problems away.
Still, we do need to recover, get our balance back and find the strength to go on. Where do we go?
I have discovered that people can provide me with a refuge. Certain people give me rest just by being with them. They accept me for who I am. They never criticize but always choose to affirm me. They are interested in what I do and how I feel.
Christ is like that. He welcomes us with joy. Wherever we are, we can enter into His presence. We can take refuge and hide in His love.
Kimberly Snider is a missionary to the Philippines.
From “Moments for Moms,” a free email subscription.
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