Gimme shelter!

O God, have pity, for I am trusting you! I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this storm is past. Ps 57:1-2

The Rolling Stones describe one of life’s ever-present dynamics in their song, “Gimme Shelter”: “Oh, a storm is threat'ning My very life today If I don't get some shelter Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away “You can hear Jagger sing the words, but more importantly you have experienced the angst of the storms of life that arrive without respect to time, place or readiness!

Where did you go as a young kid when the storms of frustration, disappointment even despair overwhelmed you? We each had a place where we went…some rode their bikes; others climbed in the dog house with their pet or up on the roof of their house, and others went for walks in the forest. I always went to the shore of Lake Ontario, just a quarter mile from my home. I would sit on the huge rocks and watch the real storm on the lake, or the night sky speckled with starts, or yell into the wind my feelings and thoughts, because no one could hear me.

What happened for you in the place where you sought refuge? Quiet, peace, solitude, a bigger perspective, a sense of calm?

God offers to us in our lives the opportunity to find refuge, shelter in the midst of our storms. Seems like we sought this naturally as kids, so what do you do now that you are grown up?

Where do you go in the midst of the whirlwinds of emotion? Do you have a place, a person, a prayer that helps you find shelter? Where to you go while serving here at the hospital when the whirlwinds of life take over? Is there a place or person of shelter that you can find? Is there a place of refuge that you can create for others?

Every day you and I provide shelter to hundreds and hundreds of people, who are struggling with the storms of health, worry, even despair. Thank you for your faithful ministry to each of them!

My prayer for each of us is that we too have places of shelter in which we can find refuge, care, support, a new perspective, peace. My prayer is that we will continue to be places and people of shelter for each other and those we serve.

Much more than medicine indeed!

Peter

Peter Bath, D.Min.
V.P Spiritual Wellness & Human Development
Shawnee Mission Medical Center