The Happy Place....

.....Is underrated. Everybody laughs at it, makes it seem like a dark closet we all go to so we can indulge in an imaginary fairy tale life and ignore the real world outside. Sorry, folks, but the Happy Place is REAL!

There's an amazing song by the band Skillet where the singer addresses God with a desperate need to return to an intimate relationship with Him. The song is called Forgiven and the chorus says, "I'm in our secret place, alone in your embrace, where all my wrongs have been erased, you have forgiven." Driving home from work, I heard that song and I thought about me and God's secret place.

Do we have one?

I couldn't remember.

When was the last time I went there?

Couldn't remember that either.

But I did remember Caitlin telling me that Spearfish is, in fact, only about 10 miles from the Wyoming border, so after work, I took a detour out of town to get a picture of the Welcome to Wyoming sign, just to say I did. Somewhere between Spearfish and Beulah, some more amazing lyrics came streaming through my speakers: Better is one day in your courts, better is one day in your house, better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere. Wow! Looking around, I knew I was in Jesus's courts. The mountains, the sunset, the trees, the utter beauty! Suddenly it all looked different. It all looked SPECTACULAR!!!!!

Where was me and Jesus special place?

RIGHT HERE. In the car. With the music. In the mountains.

Naturally, I did not want to give up this amazing feeling I've been missing for the past few weeks. Talking with God at work and in my apartment has been kind of like trying to breathe in a balloon: it gets very stale after awhile, doesn't revive you, and eventually you just quit because there's fresher air to breathe somewhere else. But driving through the mountains, I had a hard time keeping both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road because I just wanted to DANCE!!!!!!

Took me another hour to get back to my apartment. I drove back down the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway to Savoy. It was even more beautiful the second time, especially with my Praise and Worship music blaring in the background.

Let me digress for a moment....in other words, let me tell you where I'm going with this.

Happy places can move, but they are real.

I've been reading some great books lately and having some really great conversations, and it's become very obvious to me that Satan's influence in the world is very real and very normal. He's pretty good at being sneaky. Now, I'm not saying that Spearfish is a corrupt, demon-infested town drowning me in some crazy inability to pray or worship, but I can feel an obvious difference between driving the hills and sitting on the couch when it comes to chatting with God. I firmly believe this applies to every place we go or visit....it is very possible that our ability to communicate with God varies with our geography.

In the book of Genesis, chapter 29, Jacob is camping out under a tree in Beersheba. He's kind of on the run, a man with a warrant on his head because his brother Esau isn't his biggest fan. And while Jacob's sleeping under this tree, God gives him a vision. Jacob's ladder....I'm sure you've heard of it. After Jacob catches a glimpse of this heavenly escalator, he takes his pillow, which happened to be a rock, pours oil on it, and calls it Bethel, which means the House of God. It's a pillar, an altar, a geographical bookmark for Jacob to remind himself "I saw God HERE!"

A few years and a few chapters later, Jacob goes back to Bethel. After a little family drama with his father-in-law, a reunion with Esau, and wrestling with God, Jacob's still feeling a little down and all of his kids are suddenly worshiping idols. The solution....He goes back to him and God's Happy Place. Jacob and his family mount up, throw out the idols, and return to the altar Jacob built under the tree. And it's on that journey that God gives Jacob the name we know him best as: ISRAEL.

Now.....you can't read that story and NOT tell me that Happy Places are real.

What does all this have to do with my mentorship?
I'm not sure yet. But I figured while I have your attention, I'll Carpe Diem....or something like that.

Each of us has a special place where we feel God's presence most. Lucky for me, mine moves with me....but it still involves a bit of searching because the beauty of union with God is the journey towards connection.

Traveling here has taught me so much about working in the museum field and what I do and do not want to pursue in my next mentorship, but I think most of all, I've learned the importance of being someplace where God is totally tangible. Yes, he's everywhere, I know. But just because a place has a great offer, or a great view, or a great salary doesn't mean it's a great Happy Place.

And I'm finding that the ability to find a Happy Place is becoming more and more of a priority as I travel this journey towards a career.