HUMAN(KIND): A 5-Day Devotional on KindnessSample

A Safe Place

The most sacred space of my childhood was in a small town called Mexia, Texas. If you’re speeding west down Highway 84 toward Waco, you might miss Mexia. The highlights of the town are Jim’s Krispy Fried Chicken, Sonic Drive-In, a little restaurant called the Drillin’ Rig, and, of course, Walmart. 

But for me, the best part of Mexia was my grandmother’s little house. Whenever we passed the sign for Jacks Creek, I knew I could exhale. Right beyond the sign was the brick ranch-style home with the red roof that was so close to the 18-wheelers and cattle trailers passing along the highway that in the still of night, you could hear the zoom of tires and the hum of horns. 

The act of turning left from the highway onto my grandmother’s driveway sent a visceral message to my body: You can stop fighting now. You’re safe here. 

Mema taught me in the silence and stillness of the country that I could find expansion: An expanded canvas on which I can rediscover myself and even love myself again, perhaps for the millionth time. An expanded perspective through which I can talk myself off ledges and replace harsh messages with truth. An expanded capacity to lovingly welcome both my neighbors and complete strangers who want my space and time—since I no longer threaten myself, they don’t threaten me either. 

We all need a safe place where we can explore what lies beyond our brokenness and limitations. Even if that place is available for only moments at a time or is in the middle of nowhere. If it’s truly a safe place, it’s sacred because it also points us to the safe people who love us well. These are the people who remind us that dignity is ours for the taking, who call us back to our true selves. They’re the people who call us out and up, who can catch us when we have nothing left and lift us when we’re ready to be strong again. 

Find the safe places and, more times than not, you’ll find the safe people too. In safety you’ll find your feet and your freedom. Perhaps you’ll even discover enough of yourself to be a safe place for someone else. 

Who has been a safe person in your life, or where have you found safe space? In what ways did that sense of safety draw you closer to God?