When I was the young mother of two boys, ages one and four, we rented a house that threatened to tumble down if one of us sneezed extra hard!  But it boasted the redeeming feature of a lovely old weeping willow out back.  While (sometimes that word became "if") my little ones napped, I parted the supple branches of that tree and poured out an overflowing heart to my God.  I was so new to motherhood and felt so inadequate, but this hiding place allowed me to be completely transparent and honest before the Lord.

I thank God for providing that sheltering weeping willow back in the early 1950's, just as I thank Him today for providing Himself as my minute-by-minute hiding place.  As Psalm 32:7 reminds us: "You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

There are times when it is difficult to believe in the future.  Wars of one kind or another are raging all around us, and we all have some of the Cowardly Lion in us.  These are the times when we must concentrate on the present, we must look for a joyful note that brings a smile to our face, until courage returns.  Perhaps it will be the robin tugging on a worm outside, or the telephone call of a friend, or the first ripe strawberry from our own garden.  Appreciate the present until strength comes to think about tomorrow.  

"For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in  

the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall  

set me high upon a rock."  Psalm 27:5 NKJV