The Fortress

Walt Disney really got around. According to the local tour guides, after Disney visited Segovia, Spain, he was inspired by the Alcazar and rushed home to build Cinderella's castle in Disney World. Wikepedia concurs, so it must be so.

Nowadays, with nuclear war looming at every turn, it seems almost quaint to think that a fortress was the first line of defense against an enemy. Could the whole town's population really fit inside its walls? When I took the tour of this palace, it sure didn't seem as though that would be the case. (Maybe people were smaller back then.)

But let's assume they could. What a wonderful feeling that would have been, to know that you were safe within the walls of the castle and that someone, preferably many, well-armed and well-trained soldiers would defend you against marauders and murderers and approaching armies.

I've always wanted to think of my home as my sanctuary, a place where I can kick off my shoes, change into something cozy and get comfortable when I walk inside the door. . . a place where I'm safe from the outside world, where I'm accepted as I am, and where I don't have to work at being accepted or understood. In an ideal world, that would really happen.

But the real world sometimes slips under the doorjamb and invades my vision of what my 'house of refuge' is supposed to be protecting me against. Doors slam, voices raise, or even worse, an uncomfortable silence permeates every nook and cranny.

When that happens, it's good to know that there is a Mighty Fortress who I can run to. I will always fit within His walls, I will never be shut out, and He's always home. I can run 'home' any time I want.

Cinderella's Castle may have been a figment of one man's prolific imagination, but my God, thankfully, is not.

"The LORD is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge, my Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold."

Psalm 18:2