I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago about some things God had done in my life while at the Inspire 08 conference, and one of the things I shared about was fear.
When I was a very young child, maybe 2 or 3 years old, I was playing outside our home late one evening while my parents were on the front porch. I don’t remember exactly what I was playing, but I distinctly remember the sequence of events that occurred.
At the end of our driveway, there was a large streetlight. I was at the edge of the road when something caught my attention. I looked on the ground and saw something shaped kind of like a person…only it was distorted in a somewhat stretchy way. I moved closer to get a better look and it moved too!
I flipped out! I broke the sound barrier running back to my parents…screaming at the top of my lungs the whole way. My parents heard me coming and rushed to my aid. They could see the terror in my eyes and calmed me down. As I explained what happened they relaxed and explained to me what I saw that scared me so bad…IT WAS MY SHADOW! (Hey, I was three years old!)
We walked back to the glow of the streetlight as they held my hands and showed me how shadows work. I was still hesitant as we approached but I clutched their hands and let them teach me.
Here’s what I learned: though my circumstances were scary, shadows are nothing to fear. In fact a lot of shadows we see are silhouettes and forms of ourselves. This is true for a kid at the end of his driveway and it’s true in life too. And just as my parents comforted me when I say my first shadow, God protects and comforts me today when I see bigger shadows and fears.
I hope these words are a comfort to you today:
“Even thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” – Psalm 23:4a
June 5th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
YOU WERE ACTUALLY NOT QUITE TWO!!!!!!