Do You Have a Refuge for the Storm?

About 30 years ago when I was living in Coral Springs Florida, it was a very small town with a population of about 15-20 thousand people.  Coral Springs was near the edge of the everglades and about as far west as you could build in western Broward County.  The area was covered in large areas of natural woods.  There were lots of undiscovered canals, ponds, and paradise like seclusions. 

Right behind my house growing up was a series of canals surrounded by these dense natural forests.  As a kid, every day was an adventure.  My friend Tony and I would set out almost every day seeking new discoveries.  We found large hills covered in fossilized shells, we found canals and ponds full of tropical fish and alligators, we found trees covered with parrots, lizards of all sizes, and flowers of every color you could imagine.  Our mission was to find our own personal paradise.  We wanted a place where we could go to forget about the problems in the world and feel safe.  An escape is what we wanted, a place no one else could find or go.

 I will never forget the day we found paradise.  Tony and I were walking through the woods, when we noticed a tree larger than any tree we had ever seen before.  I looked like a giant umbrella or parachute, bigger than both our homes combined.  As we entered into its canopy, we could not believe our eyes.  It was like a tropical rain forest, there were parrots and lizards everywhere.  That was not the best part.  This tree had trucks so thick and twisted; you could literally climb to the top through its maze.  Vines were hanging everywhere.  These vines were so thick that you could climb and swing on them.  This place was so amazing, even Tarzan would have been jealous. 

We found our refuge.  For a number of years, this place literally was our own personal paradise, a place of refuge and escape.  Just like everywhere else, Coral Springs grew.  Before long, the tree was exposed to the world and became a park.  Tree trimmers groomed its branches and vines taking away its enchanting beauty.  A few years ago, I heard that a hurricane caused enough damage to the tree that it had to be cut down. 

What I missed the most was having a place I could go to get away.  When I was there, I could talked about my problems, I could say what I wanted to and nobody cared, I could just lay there and be left alone, I could even go play and forget about the real world.  That tree was the one place I could always go to and feel safe.  It was my refuge.

I don't have the tree anymore, just memories. Sure, I wish I could go back to the day when it was hidden from the world and I go there alone or even take my closest friends and family.  Obviously, I can no longer do that, but I do have a refuge that I didn't have back then.  My refuge is the LORD.  He is far greater than any tropical paradise, His beauty is unfathomable, His intricacy is beyond words, He is always where when I need Him, He is with me in the crowds, He is with me in my solitude, He never leaves me or forsakes me, He cannot be taken away, Storms strengthen Him, He is my rock, my fortress, and He is my salvation.  His name is Jesus.  He can be your refuge as well.

This is a picture of my son Brenton
in the tree I just described.  I was able
to take him there in 2005 just before
a Hurricane took it away.  I am so glad
he got to see it and play in it with me.

Psalm 91:2

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

May my life be the proof and evidence of His love!