My Happy Place!

When we moved into our home six years ago, I found a number of places I could refer to as a Happy Place . I loved the lake nearby and enjoyed walking around it, watching ducks swim and waddle and play in, while dappled sunlight glinted in my eyes and reflections of flora in blue water winked at me. Yes, it was my Happy Place, and I'd go there as often as I could. Sadly, as my health deteriorated in the last few years, I have had to stop my walking in nature. So no more meandering around my beautiful happy place. One day I will be back! And that is a promise!

But wait! I was blessed with yet another happy place. Right in my own home. Our backyard has been a magical wonderland for me and I was drawn to it daily. I'd sit in my bright emerald world, dressed in a garment of joy, drinking in the lush green foliage that covered our back fence, while I communed with my Creator. Springtime was especially lovely when leaves were fresh and green, birds chattered. swooped and sang while a variety of colour-splashed flowers would shout 'G'day' from all corners of our backyard. Yes, it was my happy place, no doubt about it! Until … sadly, we had to make a few changes.

The foliage has been very challenging to maintain, so my husband, the gifted gardener in our land, had to cut it down. We are now in the throes of planting other shrubs and creepers to cover the fence, but it will take a year or more for them to grow fully. Meanwhile, I've been grieving the loss of my happy place … but also hopeful that in time, its magic will flourish and woo me there once more! 

But wait! I have one more happy place to share with you. It is …. drumroll please … My Little Den!

In 2017, we were looking for a home that would contain a study for my beloved. Guess what occurred? He did get his study but that was not all! God also blessed me with my own customised study! What a gift it's been - a gift that keeps on giving. It's here that I spend time with Jesus - the happiest hours of my day. It's here that I sit and chatter to my online friends. It's here that I write my blogs. It's here I fight many battles on my knees. It's here that I sing and dance before my Creator, as I join worshippers online who enliven my computer screen. It's here I meditate on the love of God, as I bask in stunning nature scenes that nourish my soul!

Where is your happy place, dear friend? Is it in your home? Your neighbourhood? A favourite walking place? A special chair to sit in? Perhaps it's your kitchen where family and friends meet? Or your backyard where nature revives you? We all need a some place to restore us when we are weary, don't we? The truth is that the world's happy places have a habit of disappearing. Or changing. Or being taken away from us. Perhaps we need a Happy Place that we can never lose? One we can get lost in, but also find ourselves in a way we have never found ourselves before?

The happiest of Happy Places for me is not a place. It is a Person. The Person of Jesus. "Abide in me, as I abide in you." Jesus said in John 15:4 (NKJV) Abide in Him? That does make Him a place to go to, doesn't it? How do we abide in the Happy Place that is God Himself? I believe it's by having our eyes constantly fixed on Him, in a life of continuous surrender. By being obedient to all He asks of us. By seeking to become like Him - a stream that ripples and flows, bringing life and joy and liberty!

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5! So here's the reason to remain in that Place. Not to find happiness, comfort and peace … although all of that will be present in Him! We abide in Jesus so we can bear fruit that brings glory to God. The world seeks its own pleasures. The blissful places of this world only provide temporary comfort and a conditional version of joy. But the Happy Place that God talks of … its purpose is not our own fulfilment or satisfaction, (although it all will be ours when we abide in Jesus). The Happy Place that is Jesus, has eternal significance. It brings death to self. It blesses and cares for others. It brings the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus is the soft place to fall upon. He is the river that gushes forth new life. He is the beginning, the end, and all the in betweens too. He is the One whose arms are always wide open to the sinner, the outcast, the hurting,  downtrodden, the blind, the seeker, the lost. He is the One who has all the answers, All the questions too, so we can find the right questions to ask Him. I pray you have a happy place you can be renewed in regularly. I pray even more that you will find that Happy Place in Jesus who will bring you riches that are eternal and life everlasting!

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory. JESUS John 17:23

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1 John 3:24

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit. JESUS John 15:7-8