My Secret Place

Do you ever wish for a secret place to just rest awhile? Somewhere that you can just sit and relax, somewhere that you can be alone with your thoughts and sort out of of the things going on in your life. I do! This is something that i have always done. I am a big thinker and often i find that when i have a lot going on, a lot of big decisions to make....i get this feeling of needing my secret place.

When i was living back in South Africa i had a spot, a spot just for me out in nature. When i moved to the States i found another secret place, once again a place out in nature but here in the UK - i am still looking for my secret place. Sometimes i feel very lost without it and so in the last six years that i have been over here I have started to keep a diary. Somewhere for me to write down my thoughts, to just explore myself and my situations.

A little over a week ago i finished my current journal. I hate starting new journals - they are so clean and perfect (i always worry about putting that first lot of writing in them) Weird i know. So this time i decided to do something a little different. I decided that i would give an art journal a go. I don't know if i will do something arty every time i write in it but what i have done so far I have really liked.

So for now, this is my secret place. The spot i come to when i need some space, some clarification. I hope that soon i will find some place a little more to my liking but for now, this will do.

*** I wrote this entry a few days ago and this is what i received in my inbox today. And people question whether God still talks to His children - He definitely does. This is an excerpt from the Christian Woman today email that i received.

"God has a quiet place for us. It's called the secret place. It's a shelter, a place to sort out the day's happenings with His perspective and with His wisdom.It is the secret place of His presence.

Psalm 91:1 says "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

God's secret place is not hard to find. His promise is for rest right under the shadow of God Himself. It is a place to sing your praises out or cry your heart out; a place to ask the things you do not understand or to pray deeply for needs He puts on your heart. It is a safe place. A place to release your spirit from the tight hold of controlled emotions; a place to let His calm envelope you and His strength fortify you.

It is truly a place of rest. A place where, once you have found it, you want to return over and over. It is the well of spiritual refreshment for a thirsty heart.

How do you get there? How do you find this place of rest for your soul? Psalm91:2 "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"

You can only arrive at this place of refuge when you have put your trust in God. Oh, not only trust in His grace to save you, but trust in Him completely and absolutely. Trust in Him for the details of your life even when the pieces of the puzzle don't seem to match up.

"My God in whom I trust!" This is personal, confident trust. If you doubt God's goodness toward you and believe He is somehow out to default you or simply doesn't care about you...you will never find the secret place. The secret place can only be accessed through trust in a very personal God who shelters you under His wing and is your refuge from the storm.

Are there any details in your life you feel you cannot trust God with? Why?Where can you go to spend some time giving God your cares and your emotions? Find a quiet corner and get on your knees or go for a walk, sit in the tub...it doesn't matter where you are physically. Find a place to release your emotions to God and allow His Spirit to calm you. What would you like to tell God as you sit under His wing of love? Write it out to Him. Give Him the cares of your world completely. Sit in His presence, be sheltered and fortified and leave with a peace that the world does not understand (John 14:27). Leave with a rested soul."

Wow, God cares enough to send me this when this very thing has been sitting on my heart. What a wonderful God I serve.