Nice To Walk In The Shadows

Psalm 91:1 – He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (KJV)

Isaiah 51:16 – And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundation of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. (KJV)

We have been having a heat wave this summer, and, while I am appreciative of the heat for those who love it, the heat and I are not the best of friends.

My usual walking route is completely exposed, which means I must start out earlier and earlier as the heat dictates or find another route, one with trees tall enough to shade me from the sun.

As I was doing just that the other morning, a passing neighbour sighed most appreciatively, "It's nice to walk in the shadows!" Her phraseology stirred the thought that this was a new twist on the word "shadows", which is usually associated with darkness, unnerving, unease. I began to think of all the lovely shadows we have in our life: the exciting animal shapes that we made with our fingers on the wall as kids; our own shadows that we played with to make them taller or smaller, depending on how we placed ourselves in position with the sun; and today's scriptures, which tell us of the protective cover we find in the shadow of His love.

It is quite wonderful the way God gives us sometimes seemingly insignificant situations which open our eyes to the ways He works within our lives and the beautiful things He gives us each and every day.

Prayer: Our heavenly Father, we thank You for Your words, which can change our thinking about or association with something unpleasant into something beautiful, loving, and caring, and for Your love and the many ways You find to fill us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.