Refuge

“I was in need of the harbor – the calm just beyond the breakwater, a refuge.” These words are the opening lines of today’s poem, which deals with finding God’s guidance and comfort during those moments in life when we most deeply need them.

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I was in need of the harbor –
   the calm just beyond the breakwater,
      a refuge.
Yes, the worst of the storm had passed,
   and yet the waves threatened still,
   pushed on from somewhere far off shore.
I could hold on. I knew this
   in my heart.
But the safe approach must be soon
   … and close.
   So, I prayed once more.
And then I saw – what was it?
   A point of light?
   Small at first, but there…
   I saw it.
Through the dark and windspray, it showed me: home.
The embrace of Love, patient, waiting, open…
   And all came quiet now.
I held fast to the promise of this beaconed shelter –
   by the grace of God –
   and the fear let go, the pain lifted.
Peace, comfort, even joy broke through.
Healed.

The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
 – Deuteronomy 33:27

Poem originally published in the January 2018 issue of The Christian Science Journal.

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