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.


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. Of course, I found nothing.

I outgrew this ritual--thankfully. However, shadows of a different nature pursued me as I journeyed life..... worry, doubt, disappointment, sickness, loneliness, 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.