When the life is just too hard and you feel like you can't go another step, what do you do? Where do you go? Where's your safe place?
Most of us have one, I suppose: a favorite way to rest a while and catch our breath when life has thrown too much at us and we need to take care of ourselves. What's yours?
Maybe you love to listen to music, or escape into a good book; maybe you go fishing or do a puzzle or cook or just go to bed and pull the covers over your head. Whatever it is, I think we need our safe places more than ever these days.
These past months have felt like a relentless storm of one blow after another, haven't they? We've been through terrible losses and huge changes. Millions of people have lost jobs and lost people they love. It never seems to end; every day, a hundred worries fill our minds, and the future seems murky and full of questions.
Yes, we're walking through quite a storm, and there's more bad weather ahead, I'm afraid.
It was a storm today, actually, that got me thinking about all this. You see, in the country you can usually tell when bad weather's on the way. This morning all the signs were there. The wind began to rise, and the sky turned dark and heavy. Walking outside, I noticed that all the birds had disappeared, and the squirrels, who were usually running busily here and there, were nowhere to be seen. It was so quiet and still - just that low, steady wind, tilting the tops of the trees.
They know, I thought. And they're ready.
The squirrels had taken shelter in their nests, curled up in the dark with their tails wrapped around them. All the birds were low in the pine trees, fluffed up and warm; all the deer were bedded down in the thickets.
Every one of God's creatures seems to know when to take shelter and wait out the storm. They know how to make a safe place for themselves.
As I looked around, I thought of all the people out there right now, struggling to make it through just one more day. Parents are hard at work trying to make ends meet and take care of their families. Doctors and nurses are battling death at bedsides. Teachers are working long hours to help their students learn in new and difficult conditions. Older folks are waging their own lonely battles in homes that are too quiet and empty. And don't forget all the people making phone calls and holding signs and vigils to work for change! We're all out there in the storm, trying to find our way through.
But you know what? We don't have to be strong all the time. In fact, being safe and caring for ourselves is being strong. We all need to come in out of the wind sometimes and rest, or we won't survive.
So today, I hope you find some time to take shelter and take care of yourself. Turn off the news, put down the phone, and creep away to your own safe place for a while. Whether it's with a lit candle or a blast of your favorite music, a run with your dog or a good laugh with a friend, take some time to rest.
You'll be stronger for it. And we'll all need our strength to get through these hard times.
Be well, stay safe, and take care of yourself. Maybe there's better weather ahead!
Comments