When I was a teenager, back in the "olden" days, we didn't have all the technology we have now. Not just because my family was poor, but also because a lot of it just didn't exist yet. In the first part of the 1980's there were no cell phones and no Internet in most peoples' homes.
At the time my average weekday looked something like this:
6:06 am - get up
7:15 am - head for the bus to school
8:20 am - School
4:40 pm - Arrive Back Home
4:45 pm - snack & Home Chores
6:00 pm - supper (dishes)
7:00 pm --------Homework ?
30 - 60 minutes FOR ME
? Bedtime
I want you to notice the "30 - 60 minutes FOR ME" before I went to bed each night. I would go into my dark, bedroom alone, maybe listen to music, talk with God and spend time just being quiet. Mom always referred to it as the time to "recharge my batteries".
At the time I lived in a large city, and from the moment I walked out of the house in the morning until the time I was in my bedroom for the night, I was always surrounded by people. Always interacting. Even at school I couldn't go to the washroom without a bunch of girls everywhere. I truly needed time to quiet all the voices in my brain.
Mom had a philosophy that a person's home should be a haven from the harsh world. A place where you are accepted just as you are by loving and understanding people. (Thank God for her). But because I was such a timid, fearful person I needed even more. That dark, quiet time to find what I needed before starting another day at 6:06 AM.
These days almost every person has access to the Internet in their bedrooms and ultimately at their fingertips 24/7. Truly never separated from other people. It sounds like a wonderful thing, but there are some people who can be very mean and nasty and if you can't get away from them, it can be like you are being hounded by hell itself.
Where do you go to be alone? To get a break from the negative voices? Where is the last line of defense for your heart?
I've been thinking a lot about that lately. Then I started coming across several Bible verses where God is telling us to "guard our hearts and minds". To protect within ourselves a "deep" and "secret place" that we don't let just anything or anyone into.
I was fortunate enough to have a mother who was devoted to creating a home that was a haven. But I also have a God who is committed to that as well.
"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8
I kept a photo of Amanda Todd, the young teenager who killed herself because she was the focus of cyber-bullying and felt there was just no way to overcome or escape what others said about her. Not even in her home, her bedroom or finally even in the intimacies of her heart.
It's good to surround yourself with people who truly love you, but there are some places that need to be just for yourself. To go there to allow God to remind you that you have great value. Don't let anyone into your "secret place" who would tell you something different. God would never lie to you and He made you complex, unique, amazing and even wondrous. He could do nothing less.
I came across a talk by Joel Osteen on this topic. He explains it much better than I do, so I've placed his video here. I hope you find it as encouraging as I did.
Sincerely, Laura-Lee
NOTE: If for some reason a YouTube video doesn't work, I always include a LINK to it as well. Love L-L
"The Secret Place" YouTube Video by Joel Osteen
