Psalm 96:6

Honour and majesty are
before him: strength
and beauty are
in his sanctuary

My Playhouse

Was it really all that long ago-
Leaves were butter beans and mud was dough?
An orange crate was an icebox -a box was a chair,
Long days spent in my little house without a care.

I'd be up with the morning sun each day
In my playhouse till the last departing ray.
People probably thought what an awful sight,
But to me it always looked just right.

Everyone would lend a hand.
I'd ask Mother to save a box, a bowl, a can.
Now of what use can this trash  possibly be?
I would quietly whisper,  "Just wait and see."

The box was a table from the furniture store.
The bowl was for mixing and so much more.
The can was a rare vase from France.
That's where my husband and I would go to dance.

Now I wasn't all alone in my little home-
There was my friend Juney by the telephone.
My sister would ask "Where is she?"
I'd say "Sitting right there, can't you see?"

My dishes were broken, my boxes crushed with rain.
My little friend Juney vanished, I can't explain.
I long for her to return once more-
We'll rebuild my little house better than before.

By Judy Hanson
July 25,1976

A Sanctuary
 
When I was a child I had a playhouse outside under a tree.  It wasn't the fancy manufactured
kind, or even anything that would be  recognizable to the untrained eye. It really just looked like a bunch
of junk under a tree, but to my five year old eyes it looked perfect. It was my sanctuary from the
storm. When I would lay on the ground and look up through those branches giving shade from the sun, I could feel
stillness and calm surrounding me.  It was my safe place.  With me in my safe place was what I thought was an imaginary friend, but looking back, I truly believe "Juney" was my guardian angel.
This was the place I first came to hear God speaking to me,even though I hadn't really  ever been told who He was.
This  was the place I first knew that no matter what I was facing He was with me and He loved me even when
there was hurt and chaos all around. 
Years later when I was in college, I wrote a poem about my playhouse and won a poetry writing
contest. It was then I  realized that writing was something I loved and was meant  to do. However that same year I married
acquired a family, and tucked away any formal  writing for many years. I did still keep many journals that helped  keep
me sane while raising those  four children I acquired.
Many, many years later when I was in college one more time, I came to recognize the importance
 of that playhouse and how God used that playhouse to  keep me sane during a very abusive childhood.
As we grow older looking back on our lives we can so clearly see exactly where God was in situations that
we probably didn't even think He was in at the time. God gave me a playhouse. God gave me writing. God gives us  something in every stage of life to help us realize there is hope and He is near.
Look for what He is giving you this day to help you make it through to tomorrow.
No matter what storm you are right in the middle of today, no matter what chaos is surrounding you,
 find yourself a sanctuary in Christ Jesus.  He will give you His strength. He can put beauty in the ugliest of situations. He is available to guide you through every facet of your life when you make an effort to find Him.  The very best sanctuaries aren't always  fancy manufactured buildings of brick and mortar. Just find a safe place in your mind and let Him give you His rest and peace right where you are. Just feel the coolness of  the shade from the heat. Just feel the stillness of a warm quite  summer's evening.  He can bring sanity to insanity. He can bring calm to calamity. He will give you rest. He will give you peace.