Casting a shadow

 To light a candle is to cast a shadow. –Ursula K. LeGuin

 

We just changed our clocks again, maybe for the last time. (Hey, a girl can dream, right?) I am a morning person, and I found it quite jolting suddenly to get up in solid darkness, just when the early light was becoming palpable. I got to thinking about light . . . and dark . . . and shadows.

Have you ever really paid attention to how a person’s shadow behaves as the day progresses? Early in the morning, a shadow is tall and strong; you can easily tell what its source is. A person, a tree—maybe a flower. Stretched and distorted, but easily identified.

But by midday, it’s a different story. As the light grows strong and rises, the shadow shrinks. You can look down at your feet and not even be sure a shadow exists.

I think this is how God desires us to be in our walk with the Christ. Early in our journeys, people see us. We do good things, and folks can tell who, and probably even why.

But as we mature and draw closer to the Light, we diminish, and the very Source of the light is what’s dominant.

More Christ; less me. More light, more love. Less attention to the shadows we cast. Works for me (on my best days). . . .


Monday Find your emergency flashlight and play with it a little bit. Make some hand shadows. Watch what happens as you move closer or further away. Psalm 118:1-2

Tuesday Are you a morning person or a night owl? What’s your favorite time of day? Why? Psalm 118:19-23

Wednesday Lent has been focused on the approaching shadows that loom as Jesus’ journey towards the cross continues. Spend a few minutes in silence. Invite Jesus to share with your heart. Psalm 118:24-29

Thursday Have you ever experienced total darkness? What did it feel like to be completely away from any source of light? Mark 11:1-6

Friday When is light not a good thing? What words do you use to compare dark and light? Where do colors fit into this language? Mark 11:7-11

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, invite the Spirit to examine the shadowy corners of your life. Be willing to admit where you have too much you and not enough Jesus. John 12:12-16

Sunday Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem in the brilliant light of day, knowing full well there was darkness ahead. Our journey will have darkness. Prepare. Isaiah 40:3

 

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. –Carl Sandburg

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