God is a Refuge

 

Imagine my surprise as I walked past this home and discovered the famous climbing tree of Heights Park. It seems that everywhere I see climbing walls or advertisements for climbing walls. They have become common place. But this was a first, a hybrid. The combination of tree climbing and wall climbing. One stop fun.

In my childhood, we climbed trees. It was a serious hobby in the wooded area where I was born. We climbed high. We climbed every kind of tree. Sometimes we climbed up and thought we’d never find our way down. Down always seemed the trickier part of the enterprise.

Part of the art of tree climbing was finding a way to get started. The best climbing trees had low limbs one could jump up and grab. Then you would swing your legs up and pull yourself up until you were sitting on the limb. Then you would stand up and start the ascent. We displayed our courage by how high we dared to climb. We felt free, unfettered from the bonds of earth and any responsibilities of chores back home.

As we grow up and embrace the responsibilities of our adult lives, we sometimes wish for a tree to climb. Well, metaphorically speaking. I for one am past the age and condition when tree climbing should be an approved activity. But at times we need a place to go where we leave the cares of the day behind for a few minutes and view life from a different vantage point. We need to feel free, if just for a moment.

The Psalmist writes, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

God is such a refuge for us. We can lose ourselves in God and feel truly free. We can lose ourselves in God’s peace. We can feel safe enough to look at our lives from a different perspective.

Peace.