My Hiding Place

When I was young, I was greatly moved and formed in a way by the book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. She, her father, and her sister hid Jews during WWII. They were arrested and imprisoned at the concentration camp Ravensbruck. Only Corrie survived the time there and she went on to become a missionary to the world, fairly late in her life.

I read it at a time when anxiety and worry were the mainstay of my life. The idea of this woman, living in such horrible conditions, with only death and despair surrounding her - finding a place of peace. A place where she could dwell with God - a sanctuary, a hiding place - amidst the evil. Maybe that is why Psalms 91 is one of my favorites...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!"

For a young woman, afraid of her own shadow, I needed that shelter, that shadow, that refuge and fortress. I saw it in a home to live in, money stretching to the end of the month, car repairs that cost $50 instead of $500. All gifts from God, all signs of this protection, this refuge.

As I lived my life, I was somewhat confused about the difficulties life brought. I saw incredible Christians experience and survive some of the most horrible of events.
I became somewhat shaky in my belief, but still held firm. After a "horrible" event of my own, I changed.

I realized that the dwelling place was not lack of trouble, but a zone smack dab in the middle of it. Sitting outside in the cardiac care waiting room as my husband struggled for his life day in and day out, I realized it was a form of spiritual shock. A protection not from the pain, but my companion through the pain. As I spent a year nursing him day and night, He was my mind's filter. Not allowing me to think one thought beyond what He had given me strength to deal with.

I long to feel that again, but I do not long for the situation that made it imperative. As Christians, the "zone" is our dwelling place. If we will just step inside and rest within the wings, the arms that are greater than ours. My prayer for you and I is that we will take advantage of a gift so precious, so available, ours! Please Father, help me to see it, feel it, and live within it day by day.
Amen