My Shelter
You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. PSALM 32:7 NIV
Recently, I traveled to my hometown for a weekend visit with my parents.
On the evening I arrived, an unseasonably strong thunderstorm began brewing.
I had the feeling we would not be enjoying a quiet night of rest, and it turned out that I was right! Around midnight, I was awakened by thunder booming, hail pelting against the windows, and trees thrashing around in the yard.
I felt like a little girl again, wishing I could hide from the chaos outside. I headed quickly for the living room because I had a hunch that my father would be there, just as he had always been in my growing-up years, watching the storm from his favorite chair. And sure enough, there he was with his feet propped up, smiling his familiar smile and reminding me that there was nothing to worry about.
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured me. It was all I needed to hear from him.
I thought of my heavenly Father in that moment—the way His presence calms me amidst every storm that comes along in my life. There are so many things that can feel scary to me these days…news of the unrest in our world, friends dealing with health issues, stress at work and in family relationships. Sometimes I forget there is a shelter being offered by my loving Creator, a haven of rest that is available at any hour, day or night.
It often takes a few days of being pelted by the rain and hail of life
before I realize once again that there is a safe, quiet place for me to enter.
There is a smiling Father waiting for me to bring everything to Him in prayer—
to snuggle up next to Him and rest in His love. He is the One who whispers to my heart, “It’s going to be okay.”
Along with the many joys in our lives, we will all face hard things at one time or another, but we do not have to walk through one of those times alone.
Even when our earthly fathers are no longer here to offer us their strong presence, we will always be offered the loving arms of the One who made us and calls us His own.
—Paige DeRuyscher
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