Mom Heart Moments #306

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? . . . Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident. . . . For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

WHEN JOY WAS LITTLE, we had a closet at the entrance of our bedroom. It was a small, angular room that was a bit awkward and not suited to hold much. But Joy found a use for it: her own little hiding place! We hung a battery-operated lantern on a little nail on the wall, and she would take all of her stuffed animals and her beloved blanket inside to hide, pretend, and play for hours. When I read this verse, it reminds me of Joy’s wonderful hiding place —a place safe from the outside world, hidden in our room, away from all the visitors who came to our house.

It seems I am surrounded by women who are in the midst of difficult circumstances —hurting marriages, rebellious children, family members who are ill, economic crises, broken relationships, and hurtful misunderstandings in friendships. I so wish I could make all these difficulties go away, knowing the deep struggles many are experiencing during the dark times of life.

Over the course of many years, I’ve realized that I never really had a realistic picture of just what it means to live in a fallen world. This earth is the broken place. Heaven is the place where we will see justice being done, wrongs being righted, and hurts being healed. In heaven, we will enjoy deep, bubbling-over happiness and freedom from the burdens of life. Here . . . not so much.

Have you accepted that this world is a broken place? How can you develop a place with the Lord where you, too, can hide away?