Shelter
November 11, 2023
Shelter
It’s another cold, wet, dark morning. My dog Dari’s quick little barks in the other room – very gentle and soft – got me up long before dawn. I turned on the porch light for Dari, and there was a young doe, curled up and resting in the dooryard. At ease. I let Dari out, who stood quietly, watching the doe. As did I. She slowly stood up, looked at us for a little while, and then ambled across the driveway and disappeared into the woods. I stood, moved to heart-melted tears, at her sense of safety and calm. At the very peak of the fall hunting season, she had found shelter. The contrast with the images from the Middle East, of rivers of people carrying only their little ones as they walked down the road, couldn’t be more stark or troubling. Every one of us, young and old, person and deer and dog, needs shelter.
Where do you receive shelter? Where do you offer it?