| Most of us have a place in mind, a memory, an event, or an 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 Bill’s farm in the state of New York. 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 eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, waking me up with their rich aroma, being cooked on a wood burning stove by my aunt. 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 in the many years that followed my last visit there in the early 70’s. Where is your happy place? The 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; it can be an imaginary place, or a person. We all need a happy, serene place to go to when the trials of life overwhelm us. I still go to that farm in my mind from time to time; however, I have found an even better place, one that Moses experienced in the book of Exodus. Moses had a wonderful relationship with God, and desperately wanted to physically see Him. God granted his request by letting him see a part of Him, but not His face. “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 cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by” (Exodus 33:21-22). 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”! As a result of the very difficult last few months, we could all use a “happy place,” a safe place of rest and reassurance. There is no better happy place than being in the cleft of the rock, covered by the protective hand of The Almighty! If you know Him, you are already there! Fanny Crosby’s song, “He Hideth My Soul,” is a great reminder of our “Happy Place.” “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.” |