Some thoughtful friends sent Scott and me to the coast a few days ago as a gift for hosting their wedding. Our hotel room overlooked the harbor. As darkness approached, I began to feel fearful. Not sure why the anxiety, but I put my head to the pillow praying for God’s protection and peace.

During the night, I awoke. When I sat up in bed, the harbor was full of lights. Boats had come into the bay. In my half-asleep state, staring at the lights, I swear I heard God say, “I am your safe harbor.”

The words so comforted me, so filled my soul with a bone-deep satisfaction, I lay right back down and slept more soundly than I have in ages. When I awoke the next morning, the bay was empty, and it seemed I dreamed the whole thing up. But that notion wouldn’t let me go, “I am your safe harbor.” It stayed with me all day as we drove up the rocky California coast to Fort Ross where the Russians left a settlement and towering redwood trees remain.

Highway 1 to Fort Ross is this curving, cliff-hugging cow-trail. Okay, the road’s paved, but you cross cattle guards carved into the highway and share the drive with roaming bovines. And it’s narrow and steep. Breathtakingly steep. Hawks look you in the eye as they fly alongside you. This stretch north of Bodega Bay doesn’t bother Scott at all, having been a helicopter pilot, heights mean nothing to him, but for me, staring a thousand feet straight down out the car window to the crashing surf below, my knuckles stayed white the whole way.    

And the words returned to me again and again on that treacherous drive… I am your safe harbor… which got me thinking about boats. If they’re created to sail the seas why do they need harbors? As I pondered, I realized even mighty ships require rest. The ocean is relentless, rolling and pounding and churning like our lives, and ships, same as us, seek shelter and safety, especially in storms. The harbor does not move, ships travel to it. And the vessels carry anchors and ropes to tie themselves in when they get there.

The other day, I spent time with a Christian who was struggling. As we talked, she admitted church for her was hit and miss these days. She didn’t read her Bible enough, and hardly spent time with other believers. “You know you weren’t made for this,” I told her. “Jesus calls us sheep for a reason. Christians need the protection of the sheepfold. Lone ones get eaten.”

Just as ships find safety with other ships.

So anchor yourself in your Bible.

Tie yourself to other believers.

And never forget, God is your safe harbor.