Shadows....

Shadows

When you think of shadows, 
   what are your thoughts?

Phantoms, alternated forms, darkness, and words like gloom and unhappiness arise if it is a day when your glass is half full.





It's that time of the year.  The weather turns cool.  Jack-o-lanterns, scare-crows, wispy ghost figures, and frightening masks fill the store shelves and your neighbors' front porches.

Children anticipate Halloween.

On Trick-or-Treat night, shadows lurk everywhere...  Most of them dressed in costumes and carrying candy buckets.  

When I was little and alone, shadows scared me.  With the moon creeping through an upstairs window at night and tree branches scratching the outside walls of the house, goosebumps spread on my arms and legs as the shadows scattered across my bedroom floor. 

Shadows gave rise to thoughts of other creatures.  None of them warm and fuzzy.

I had a night-time ritual.  Getting down on my hands and knees, I would flip back the chenille bedspread to watch the dust bunnies scatter.  Determining it was safe under the bed, I would go to the closet.  Taking a deep breath, I would grasp the handle, turn it quietly, and then whip the door open.  Checking all the corners and shelves and finding nothing, I re-closed the door tightly so nothing could get out.

I outgrew this ritual--thankfully.

However, shadows of a different nature pursued me as I journeyed life.

worry

doubt

disappointment

sickness

loneliness

resentment

rejection

guilt

     We live in a fear-based world, a world where bad news travels at light speed and good news doesn't. . . . These are troubled times, times when we have legitimate fears for the future, our nation, our world, and our families.... (Day 165, 365 Daily Devotions for Women)

Tribulation

without trust in an almighty God

separates us

from Him.

...but as Christians we have every reason to live courageously.

Keep your face always toward the sunshine. . . and shadows will fall behind you.  Walt Whitman

On another day, perhaps a day filled with joy moments, you may think of a shadow as a reflected image or an inseparable companion or follower.

Consider another definition--

   --an area where direct light from a light source can not reach due to obstruction by an object . . . at certain times of day, the lengths of shadows change. 

Can we be the "obstruction" to God's light desiring to shine on  us?  Are there times when we allow our shadows to lengthen? 

It is easy to become so wrapped up in our shadows that we fail to seek God's guidance and therefore miss out on the peace that comes only from God.

I have set before you

life and death,

blessing and curse.

Choose life . . .

and remain faithful

to Him.

Deut. 30:19

Say goodbye to your shadows, 
whatever they may be.

Decide to trust.

Let go and let God.

Dear God,

May I reflect your image.  May I be your inseparable companion and follower.  May I never let the shadows in my life separate me from your grace and eternal promise.  
Amen

After all, the ultimate battle has already been fought and won on that faraway cross at Calvary.  (365 Daily Devotions) 

Wishing you fall joy.