Safe, Safer, Safest
Sid Bream labored around third base heading home like a locomotive; heavy but picking up steam. As he slid into home, there was a throw to the plate. The entire stadium stood cheering while simultaneously holding our breath awaiting the signal. “Safe!” And with that declaration the 1992 Atlanta Braves won the pennant.
Safe at home. I don’t think any of us would’ve imagined what being safe at home would mean 28 years later.
“It’s not safe,” they said, and then they shut the country down. “Shelter in place” a new phrase that now provokes a memory. So, we all retreated to isolate, quarantine ourselves in the safety of our homes. Home, the place where we were protected from the invisible enemy; a deadly virus. Safe… at home… until…
Easter weekend, an EF4 twister ripped through Moss, Mississippi ripping the Phillips’ family home off its foundation. Their home wasn’t safe, but the family of four hunkered down inside a concrete closet. After the storm passed, their safe room was the only thing standing.
Sid’s goal was to be safe. The government’s goal was to be safe. The Phillips family just wanted to be safe.
What does it mean to be safe? Is any place safe? Is any person safe?
Webster’s defines safe as secure from threat or danger, harm or loss.
A safe person is “trustworthy or reliable.”
But is any place really safe? Can people really be trustworthy?
After all, on any given day, invisible enemies are “in the wind” while the visible ones come roaring in your face. Fear grips us. And when it does, we want to run to a refuge. We desperately want someone to hold us tightly enough to lose our breath and gain it at the same time and whisper in our ear, “you’re safe,” and then not let go until you believe it.
Reliable relationships are rare.
It’s hard to trust people. Most of us have been burned or let down enough times that we greet new relationships armed with our own personal protection equipment (PPE). Instead of extending trust, people have to earn it. I hate thinking that way. Usually, I trust until you give me reason not to. But recently I’ve had some conversations with a friend about what he’s encountered specifically in the dating world; people seeking shelter with people. Each comes with their own baggage, each hoping the other person is safe and able to meet their needs. (I’m SO glad I’m not near entering THAT world!)
You may not be dating but the same plays out in our friendships and even family relationships. The storm is coming, and you need a place to run. Not too long ago, someone told me, “I’m a safe place.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard it. As a pastor, it’s my job to be a safe place for people to process. And likewise I need a safe place to process. BUT humans fail. They disappoint us. They betray us. They hurt us. Comparatively speaking, they are the house that sustains the brisk winds and the torrential rains. They brave the storms with you, holding you tightly. And they celebrate with you when the threat leaves your radar. Safe people have a very important place in our lives, but they will never stand the tornadic storms of our soul. No human is able. So, love them, confide and hide in them, but just remember, they’re not your “safest” place.
Solid structures stand. Whatever we are building in this life is temporary. By virtue of its connection to humanity, it can be frail and compromised. But, just like the concrete safe room for the Phillips family, there is a place we can go when the “house” we’ve built is thrown to the wind. “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10) I imagine the Phillips family, aware they were living in tornado alley, prepared a place, so when the storms came, there would be no question, no discussion of where they would run. So should be our priority, to resolve God as our only safe place. Psalm 16:1 – “Keep me safe, my God, for I take refuge in you.”
When you take refuge in the Lord, His presence is palpable. His wisdom is perfection. His joy, undeniable. His protection unshakable.
How have you been processing the idea of “safe” during this time? Have you put your trust in temporary structures, or has Christ awakened your heart and mind to the one and only safe person- safe place?