Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short, yet why should I be sad
To welcome endless day?

Christ leads me through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He that unto God’s kingdom comes
Must enter by this door.

Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet
Thy blessèd face to see;
For if Thy work on earth be sweet
What will Thy glory be!

Then I shall end my sad complaints
And weary sinful days,
And join with the triumphant saints
That sing my Savior’s praise.

My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But ’tis enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with Him.

– Richard Baxter

The Secret Place

In a far away country
I have travelled
Sights and sounds
People and buzz
Activity
Lots of activity
Always something to do
Always someplace to be
Where does it end?

Noise
So
Much
Noise
Opinions, approvals, expectations
What does he think of me?
Does she like me?
Did I do good enough?
Should I have said that?
Next time I will just stay silent
Just say nothing
Then they will have nothing to judge me about
Or would they?

A wandering soul
Tossed around by external activity
Caught up in an internal storm of noise
Here and there
Up and down
All around
My soul is weary

How long has it been
Since quiet?
Real, calm, quiet
Deep, soul-level quiet

I know this voice
This gentle tugging in my soul
I feel Him drawing me away
Slowly, quietly, tenderly
I sense His invitation
“Come away with me”

.
.
.

It’s been so long
So long
Since I’ve been here
This familiar
Yet foreign place
No one else can enter
Here
It is just me and You
Me
You
Safe
Breathe
Listen
Cry

This is home
Where I’m meant to be
With who I was created to commune with
You hear the language of my heart
You know every corner and crevice
You know
You know
“I know”

Here is where I’ve longed to be
In the secret place
Where it is only You
And me.