One of the Christmas memories that our kids cherish the most was the memory of building an elaborate fort out of blankets and overturned chairs and furniture on Christmas eve. They’d build it and then all five would try unsuccessfully to sleep in it.
Talia recalls the fort-building process like this:
Christmas
Eve would finally come and we’d spend all day building a fort. Every
sheet, blanket and pillow in the house,
went towards the creation of our own magnificent fortress.While each
kid contributed to the overall
structure of the fort, we were each responsible for whatever interior we
desired to sleep in. And then come the
late hour of 6:00pm we set out Peppermint Bark and Diet Coke (our Santa
didn’t like milk) and we would hustle to our little dens to sleep.We
did this for years. Even when my friend Misty came to visit,
bless her heart. And yes, three of us
were college graduates.
Building forts was a hard tradition to give up. I think maybe a couple of years ago they looked around and realized they were in their 20s and getting too old for it.
I was thinking about why it is that kids build forts. And I came to the conclusion that it’s a way of expressing our basic need to be safe. When we’re hidden away in our fort, we’re safe.
We are always looking for a place where we’re protected from people who may want to harm us.
And as we go thru life, what we discover is that life is often dangerous. There are no guarantees.
Like you perhaps, I’ve been wounded and bruised by my journey thru life. But I decided that past didn’t have to be prologue when it came to the atmosphere at my workplace.
Yet, there’s a gap between aspiration and reality. It hasn’t been easy to make that happen. This past year at Adventures we’ve gone thru transitions that at times heightened our anxiety instead of making us feel safe.
Of course the only safe place we can ever offer the world is in Christ. He’s a stronghold, our fort, our hiding place. In the midst of the world’s current financial storms, he offers ultimate safety.
What I love about many of you reading this blog and those I work with is that you’re committed to showing the world what it means to be truly safe – to be “hidden” in Christ. You understand not only the great gift that Christmas represents to all of us, but you’re willing to pay the price to see that others get it too.
Do you feel safe at work? Do you feel safe with your friends? What makes you feel safe?
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I just blogged a similar (well sort of) post. Everyone and thing has failed me except for Christ. Why wouldn’t I rest completely in the safety of his embrace? Love this.
Very true, Jeremy. Me too.
Recently as I’ve been going through my own healing journey from sexual abuse, I’ve been transitioning from feeling great anxiety at being touched to feeling extremely safe. This, truly, is a miraculous alteration. I have a dear friend who has offered to hold me when I’m in pain. At first, I shunned the offer. I made mental excuses: “That’s not for me.” “That’s not healthy.” “It signals that I’m codependent if rely on someone to comfort me.” In actuality, it was physically and emotionally painful to even imagine someone being that close without hurting me.
As I’ve chosen to trust God and trust her and a few other friends in that place of vulnerability, I am discovering that other people can be a safe place for me–not just emotionally, but physically as well. That touch can be healing, sheltering, and not traumatic. Not that the anxiety isn’t still present–but it begins to melt away the more I experience being held & loved without being violated.
Yesterday I was sitting with God as He brought up a raw and wounded part of my heart. I prayed: “Jesus… You have a body! I want a hug!” Later my friend came over to sit with me, at my request, and she held me while I cried & processed. What a gift to find a place of safety in the Body of Christ. What a miracle that the physical presence of Jesus is with us, through the incarnation, and through His people.
This is powerful, Chelsea. It opens a door of understanding for me. Thank you for sharing.
As I read this, I not only thought about what makes me feel safe, but also how different life looks when I do feel safe. I am a completely different person when fear is pushed away.
Wow, Chelsea…your testimony brought me to tears and truly blessed me today.
Thank you for sharing!
Judith
Heard a program on Moody radio that was addressing the fact at the heart of Christmas is that longing to be safe- and sending Jesus was addressing that – we can come home to God now, and that is truly the safest place in the universe.