Daniel’s Refuge

Daniel liked forts. Whether it was a log fort or a tree fort, a great stone castle or a hidden underground refuge, Daniel thought forts were wonderful. He liked reading about them. He liked talking about them. And most of all he liked to build them.

“It looks like you’re building a fortress this time,” big brother Chad said when Daniel began hauling cardboard boxes and boards behind the chicken yard. “What happened to the fort you and Rosie made in the tree house?”

“This one is going to be better!” Daniel said, confidently. “Do you think Dad will let me use those old bricks? I need them for a barricade.”

“I think so, but what is the barricade for?” asked Chad with a laugh.

“So the other kids can’t come in. This fort will be even better than the tree house, and I won’t let anyone take it over. It is my personal refuge.”

“A selfish refuge,” said Chad. But Daniel just ran off to get the wheelbarrow.

The bricks were heavy, and it took awhile to load the wheelbarrow. Next he hauled them over to the construction site. It was a perfect spot between a tall stump and the fence, with a holly bush behind. “My escape exit will be by the bush,” said Daniel to himself. “No one will want to follow me through those prickles!”

Daniel started unloading bricks, and then frowned as he saw his sister. “Rosie, this is my fort and it is a secret. Don’t come back here!”

“Why can’t I help?” asked Rosie in surprise. “Mom said I could play outside with you.”

Daniel thought a moment. If I let her help, she doesn’t have to know where the secret exit is. She can bring me tools and carry things. Then I won’t really be selfish.

“If you want to help, you can be my servant,” said Daniel. “Maybe I’ll let you come and sit in it sometimes.”

Rosie hesitated. “I guess so. What should I do?”

Suddenly Daniel had a wonderful idea. “You can haul bricks for me. I probably will need fifty or more.”

The job kept Rosie busy for a long time, like Daniel had hoped. The wheelbarrow wasn’t easy for her to push, so she couldn’t bring very big loads and it took a long time. Daniel got impatient.

“Can’t you bring more than that? At this rate it’ll take all day!”

Suddenly Rosie burst into tears. “I—I can’t do it! They are—are too hea—eavy for me—e,” she said in between sobs. “The bricks h—hurt my f—fingers. I don’t w—want to h—help anymore.”

“You didn’t have to help, anyway,” Daniel said. But as she turned to leave, he felt a little bit ashamed. You should say you are sorry, a little voice whispered. Daniel shrugged. I didn’t want her help, so it’s her own fault.

When Daniel came in for lunch, Mom called him into the living room. “What happened outside this morning?” she asked. “Rosie said you are making a fort and that you made her haul all the bricks.”

“That’s not what happened. I just had this fort I’m making and she wanted to help, so I said she could haul bricks.”

“But you said I had to be your servant. And the bricks were too heavy for me,” said Rosie.

“You didn’t have to help me,” said Daniel, frowning at his sister.

“It wasn’t very nice to give her the hard work to do, Daniel,” Mom said quietly. “You know you should be kind to your sisters.”

“He said that he was making the fort for himself,” said Chad from the couch. “And he wasn’t going to let anyone else in.”

“I’m disappointed in you, Daniel,” Mom said sadly.

Daniel didn’t say anything. Everyone was against him now. No one even tried to understand! He would escape to his fort after lunch and stay there until Dad got home. Dad would understand how he felt.

Being outside with only the chickens for company calmed Daniel’s feelings. It took awhile to finish the brick barricade, and the roof was harder than he’d thought. The boards kept falling down and the holly bush got in the way. Daniel decided to try evergreen branches instead. He was up on the stump fixing his new thatch when Dad came over.

“Ahoy there, Captain!” Dad called, giving a little salute. Daniel smiled.

“But Dad, this is not a ship,” he explained as he scrambled down. “This is my secret hideout.”

“So I heard,” Dad said, looking it over. Daniel felt a tingle in his back. Mom had told him about it, then. Well, Daniel didn’t care. It was his personal refuge.

“No one else allowed, huh?” Dad asked.

Daniel nodded. How could he explain it to Dad? “It’s just that I want my own space that I don’t have to share with anyone,” he said. “The other kids mess up things and I want this spot to be where I can keep things the way I like them.”

“And where you don’t have to treat others kindly, either?” Dad asked quietly.

Daniel frowned. “Rosie said she wanted to help. She can’t build a good wall, so I said she could haul bricks. I didn’t know they were too heavy for her.”

Dad looked at him for a minute, and then asked, “Daniel, whose side are you on?”

Daniel was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you receiving Jesus or resisting Him? Is He your Captain or not?”

Daniel felt trapped. If he said Jesus was his Captain, Dad would ask why he hadn’t been sharing. But it didn’t seem fair to share a personal refuge. He didn’t want to be selfish, really. “I don’t know,” he muttered. “I just wanted to be by myself.”

“And what about the One who gave up Himself for you? Are you going to leave Him out, Daniel?” Dad’s voice was very serious, and when he put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, Daniel felt like shrinking. But Dad’s next words caught his attention: “Did you know that Jesus has a refuge He wants to share with you? It is called Humility, and it is a wonderful hideout. I’ve been there many times.”

Daniel looked up at Dad’s kind face. What was he trying to say? That Jesus wanted him to be humble?

“Once, a man on my crew left out some tools at work,” Dad said. “My boss was upset when he found them later and bawled out the other crew. I usually was very careful, and so I didn’t want for him to blame me. But I knew my safe spot was in the refuge, and so I humbly told him that I was sorry about the trouble and was willing to pay for the damage.”

“But it wasn’t your fault, was it?”

“It was my responsibility because I was head of that crew,” Dad said. “It is not if things are fair or if it is your fault so much, but if you have the right attitude, that matters. Jesus took our blame and humbled Himself to be a servant. Daniel, do you want to stick to your own way, or join Him in that refuge?”

Daniel looked down. It was hard to give up, but when he thought of Jesus and His example, he felt ashamed. “I’m sorry I was selfish. It wasn’t kind of me to make Rosie get the bricks because I didn’t want her there,” he whispered. “I want to be kind and share.”

After they had prayed together, Daniel lifted his head with a much lighter heart. Everything was right again. It was strange, but even though he knew he must apologize to Rosie, he felt peaceful inside. Jesus’ way of humility was a good refuge alright.