Most of us have a place in mind, a memory, situation, or activity that we have very fond memories of, often referred to as “My Happy Place.” As a boy and into my teen years “my happy place” was my uncle’s farm located several hundred miles away from my home. The memory of visiting that farm each summer in my childhood is as vivid as it ever was. I can still see the house, the wrap around porch with a swing, and the barn, unusually situated across the road from the house. I can still smell the bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, waking me up with their rich aroma, still cooked by my aunt on a wood burning stove. That farm was peaceful, serene, safe, and restful. I couldn’t wait to get there, and I hated to leave. I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I visited that “happy place” in my mind since my last visit there decades ago.
Where is your happy place? That place you can go to for peace, protection, and rest? Perhaps it’s the beach, the mountains, or like me, a peaceful farm. It can be a memory, a real place, an imaginary place, or a person. We all need a happy place to go to when the trials of life overwhelm us. I still go to my uncle’s farm in my mind from time to time; however, I have found an even better place, one that Moses talked about in Exodus. Moses had a wonderful relationship with God, and desperately wanted to see Him. God partially granted his request by letting Moses see part of Him, but not His face, as recorded in Exodus 33:21-22.
“And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.”
I wonder how many times Moses went back to that rock in his mind. Even though He didn’t see God’s face, he did feel his warm, loving, protective touch as God put him in the “cleft of the rock” and covered him with His hand. Wow! What a perfect happy place! No matter how difficult life can be, find your happy place in the cleft of the rock, covered by the protective hand of The Almighty!
“A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord
A wonderful Savior to me
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land
He hideth my life in the depths of his love
And covers me there with his hand
And covers me there with his hand.”