Shadows

 I have always enjoyed looking at and making shadows. Who has not made shadow puppets as a child? I still see children playing shadow tag just as I did as a child. During one solar eclipse our family used a pizza pan with tiny holes in it to create multiple eclipse shadows on the backyard wall. 

  

      Over the years, I have noticed several things about shadows.

1. Shadows do not hurt. They cannot inflict real pain, only the fear that we allow.

2. Shadows have no substance. They are, by nature, an absence of light. This actually makes them more “nothing” than “something”.

3. Shadows are a very unclear picture of the object casting the shadow.

4. Shadows mimic another real item. A shadow has no will or ability to change on its own.

5. Shadows are usually much bigger than the item they mimic.

6. Shadows disappear around light. The less light or the farther away the light source, the bigger the shadow.

7. Shadows are boring. They usually only come in one color – gray.

8. Shadows can hide smaller evils.

9. A larger shadow from a stronger light source will dissolve other shadows.

10. Shadows can be helpful. A very sunny day a shadow can be a welcome respite from the scorching sun.

So what does that mean for our real lives? Many of us live in fear of shadows. We worry about what may happen. We live in the what if instead of the here and now. We may run from a nonexistent specter that has no power of its own. Sometimes we can even interpret a shadow into an almost real entity, like a child seeing a monster in the closet. We chase shadows of what we think we want, only to be unfulfilled. They have no color, no vibrancy. They are usually no place to stay long.  They can hide other dangers. If we are unwary, we can be blindsided by real things hiding in the shadows because we worried about the unreal.

The solution is to live in the light. It does not mean that we should not be mindful of a shadow, only that we should not fear it. The actual problem, event, or object will most often be much smaller and more easily managed. Worry can be crippling; learn to face the reality instead of its larger shadow. A shadow may look as big as a mountain and yet have a caster that is much smaller. Occasionally, a shadow will look like a mountain, because it is cast by a mountain. Instead of trying to move it, look for a way around or even through. God can move mountains, but He often provides a mountain pass.

Yet there is a shadow that we need to embrace. If we dwell in God’s shadow, it will shelter and protect us. God is light; He is drives all others away. There are no evil surprises waiting there. Since God is light, I imagine that His shadow would still be a well-lighted place to dwell.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1 NIV