When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now

When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)

At night the stars put on a show for free
And, darling, you can share it all with me
I keep a-tellin' you

Right smack dab in the middle of town
I've found a paradise that's trouble proof (up on the roof)
And if this world starts getting you down
There's room enough for two
Up on the roof (up on the roof)
Up on the roo-oo-oof (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, baby (up on the roof)
Oh, come on, honey (up on the roof)

Where is your roof? It's a good thing that my involvement in the roofing industry is on the manufacturing end because I really am not fond of heights. It would be better yet if we manufactured materials for flat roofs because I can usually handle those. The pitched ones, though, which seem to present an inordinate risk of sending me tumbling into space with a violent "thud" at the end? Well, those may have offered a place of escape to The Drifters, Carole King, James Taylor and Neil Diamond, but not to me.

But we all need that place of escape, don't we?

I know that I do. As in introvert trying to live out a position of leadership, I hit points where I just want to shut down. My business partner (also an introvert) and I often joke that if, someday, one of us can't find the other, it will probably be because that person will be huddled in a fetal position beneath his desk clutching a copy of the Wall Street Journal and quietly sobbing.

Sometimes life gets to be a bit much.

Hardly fair to the wonderful family I have been blessed with, it's not uncommon for me to come home from work and just really not want to talk to anyone. I do my best to fight my way through that but, often, by the end of the day, I have sensory overload. Whether it's true or just in my imagination, I feel battered and bruised and I just want to go up on my roof.

Do you ever get that way?

I think that, as Christians, we sometimes feel like The Word should be all we need for our comfort and assurance. "Just find some inspirational passages and read them; you'll make it through this, Todd" I have often told myself. But it doesn't work that way.

I need my roof.

The Bible has examples of people seeking those special places of comfort, peace, rest and solace. Those places that become our stronghold of protection and rejuvenation.

David had Ein Gedi, a beautiful spot near the Dead Sea, where he escaped. Sure, he was chased there by a crazed Saul and his warriors but, once he was there, David found Ein Gedi to be "his" roof, I think. Many of the Psalms reference this area's beauty and protection. David felt both the emotional and physical peace of protection there.

Jesus had places he sought, too. After a day of teaching and healing, when I am sure he felt mentally and physically spent, when he was tired of being pressed by the crowds and performing miracles with props as simple as bread and fish, Jesus would escape across the Sea of Galilee, again a beautiful spot ... it became "His" roof. And, of course, the night he came to be face to face with His certain physical doom, he sought out another place of peace -- the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Olives.

For the last few years, my "place" has been what we call the "lake house". Located less than an hour from home, the lake house has become my Ein Gedi -- my "roof". We bought it a few years ago with my parents after my dad suffered a severe stroke and his ability to travel significant distances was diminished. It's a spot that offers natural beauty including the peacefulness of water but it offers so much more. And that "more" is more than just "escape". It is peace and rejuvenation, often a time to re-connect with two of my power sources -- Lisa and Evan. But also a chance to re-connect with my greatest power source -- God -- as the lake house gives this introvert a chance to drown out the noises of this world ... and focus on a peace that is not of this world.