“For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.” (Psalm 32:7 NLT)
When I was a kid growing up in southern Illinois, one of my favorite places to spend time in the summer was climbing the catalpa tree in the side yard of our house. That tree had big leaves and low slung branches that made for easy climbing as well as serving as my place of escape. It was in the catalpa tree that I could be anything my imagination would allow, but most often it was just a great place to hide from my mom when she had a chore for me to do. Every now and then those images of my secret hiding place in the catalpa branches can be so vivid in my memory.
I remember how many of my friends used to find a “secret hiding place” under the canopy of a willow tree that sat in the middle of the huge yard at the funeral home in town. It was in those places we could feel safe…wonderfully alone, and yet not fearful at all. We could go there almost anytime and get alone with whatever thoughts were racing through our minds.
Now…so many years later, I find that God still hides me in the secret hiding place of His protection. And, even though God’s secret hiding place is not tangible like the huge leaves of the catalpa tree, or the canopy of branches of the willow, my spirit still recognizes how real this wonderful hiding places is for me today…and I am at peace.
Father, even in the times when I can’t see You or hear You, I know you are there… because You have always been there. I can look back now, Lord, and see that there was never a time You were not present in my life, even when I wasn’t present with You. Thank you for that. Thank you for being my hiding place. Amen.
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