Embraced By Hope

Granpa Dane calls this the Secret Place. It's not very far from our house - just a couple of miles. The waterfall behind us is very high. I'm distance challenged but I'm guessing at least 25 feet high. Several of our grandchildren (and one of our sons) has climbed up the face and behind the waterfall.

Grandpa has been able to take all but four of his grandchildren to the Secret Place he discovered. He makes a pretty big deal of it. The drive takes us to a very old cemetary. The children get a very skeptical look on their faces and even a couple have said "Is this all it is?" I can see Granpa smiling discreetly as he heads them down a long path into the woods. He asks them to begin to listen and soon they hear water. Not too far into the woods we come upon this gorgeous sight. It's a perfect playground for children, with a pool of water, lots of rocks to skip down the creek and big rocks to make a natural bridge across the creek to the other side which is complete with "mountains" to be climbed and conquered. I think you get the picture. Add little ones to this and you end up with lots of wet and fun and adventure. Granpa and Grammie picnics are particularly memorable here.

The Secret Place is a beautiful scene that God has carved out of rock and water and nature. It's in a very unlikely place, and very unsuspecting. I wonder how many drive within a few hundred yards of it every day and have no idea that it even exists.

God has created a number of places of serenity in my life. Places I can run to in times of distress, needing a quiet place where I can hear nothing but God and His nature. We were challenged last week in our Journey Group (home church) about how hard it is to get totally quiet and make space to really hear God. I've noticed a personal struggle lately. I long to hear God speak into me the thoughts He wants me to ponder, but I tend to have some noise going, TV or stereo. TV brings it's own set of struggles and right choices, but my stereo is full of christian CD's that can bring me to worship. That isn't a wrong choice. But what else might I hear if I shut out all wordly noise and just listened. It's a new discipline I'm working on - not here yet, but still on the journey toward embracing silence in my life.

There are secret places where I can get really quiet and the only noise around me is that being made by God's nature. Are there those places for you? Do you need to go in search of a secret place of your own where you can really hear the voice of the one who created you, gifted you and is calling you to a special journey that only your can accomplish for Him with God working through you?

I'd share the location of Granpa Dane's secret place, but we really want to keep it to ourselves as long as we can. I challenge you to go in search of your own secret place. God has made many of them just for the finding.

Happy searching............