Hiding Places

When I was growing up I had a large bedroom with slanted ceilings. On either side of my room were small doors in the walls leading to attic storage spaces. If you had the courage you could go all the way through the creepy crawl space into my brother's room across the hall. I wasn't brave enough to try it often.

The home we rent now has the same kind of storage spaces except they don't connect. And they're carpeted so they're not as creepy as my old crawl space. It makes a great hide out for my niece.

My favorite hiding place when I was a kid was my sister's closet. I liked peeking out from behind her clothes. As a child I had a penchant for hiding. I liked to see but not be seen. (One of my favorite books was Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, a story about a young girl who gets into all kinds of trouble as she records her observations about people).

What I never realized, until recently, is how that whole hiding thing has affected my relationships with people. I still have a tendency to hide - at least to hide parts of myself - from other people. You can see me - but only part of me. Don't get me wrong, I think there is wisdom in being cautious about what you share about yourself. (In today's world it's not safe to just put your personal information out there for anyone to see - witness My Space and Facebook - truth is no less truth with discretion). But apart from being discerning about what to share with others and still be open and up-front with people, I think I have a natural bent toward hanging back and waiting to see what happens. I just never called it hiding before!

And I wonder - how does all this affect my spiritual life? Do I do the same thing with God? Hold back and wait and see what happens? Have I constructed walls where there shouldn't be any? I have always had huge trust issues, which I have been working on for a long time, and honestly thought I had come to grips with most of that. Now I'm wondering if God is calling me to go deeper. There's always some area of my life He's trying to refine.

As I've thought and prayed about this area of my life I've come to the conclusion that the secret is to find the right hiding place!

You are my hiding place and my shield;I hope in Your word. Ps 119:114

You are my hiding place;You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Ps. 32:7

You see, God's not asking me to put my trust in people (even people who are trustworthy fail) but in Him! In Him, I can see and be seen for who I really am - a child of God. Not perfect, not even close, but growing, maturing, learning.

His protection, love and grace are my hiding place now.

All-ee, All-ee in come free!

All for Him,

Missy