IN DADDY'S SHADOW

We live in a world of shadows.  Shadows are things we don't pay much attention to unless we are looking for a place with shade, which is another type of shadow.  A shadow is a reflected image so it's not the real thing being reflected.  When the sun beats down on the leaves of trees, we may see a clear outline of a leaf reflected on the ground below, but we know the shadow isn't a real leaf.  Either way, we are grateful for those shadows when we need protection from the burning hot sun.

Anyone who knows me, knows that one of my favorite chapters in Scripture is Psalm 91 and has been for years.  When I write letters or notes to people, I usually write "Ps. 91" down in one corner of the paper.  This Psalm holds a wealth of blessing, security and encouragement.  It helps me tremendously in knowing God better.

The first verse of Psalm 91 says:

                             He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
                             shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Dwelling doesn't mean I'm just dropping in or temporarily residing in the secret place of the most High.  It means that I'm living there.  That's my place because I am His child.  The extra benefit of that is that I'm also in the shadow of the Almighty.  Wow...what a place to be...  cuddled up to Him, in secret with Him and abiding in His shadow...who could ask for more.   However, it is my choice day by day how close I stay to Him because He never moves.

I received a bicycle for Christmas when I was 9 years old.  It was a used one that Daddy  repainted bright red.  I knew it was used but I didn't care.  It was mine.  I couldn't ride it for about three months because of all the snow that year, but when the time came, I hit the road.

The street in front of my house was covered with gravel which didn't make for the best bike riding.  However, the street in the next block down was concrete.  On one particular day, my Mother gave me permission to go there and ride my bike.  It was about 4:30 in the afternoon and I knew my Daddy would be home by 5:00 for supper.  That gave me a half hour to ride a long oval path on that street all I wanted.  I was cautioned to either watch for Daddy's arrival home or to listen for one of my parents to call me to supper.

On that first day of riding on that nice concrete street, there on MY concrete block showed up two big boys on their bikes.  They were REALLY big.  I think they may have been 12 or 13 years old.  I'll just call them Mutt and Jeff.  Mutt rode to one end of the block and Jeff rode to the other end of the block.  They started riding their bikes back and forth there at their corners.  When I got near to the end of the block nearest my house, Mutt told me that he couldn't let me pass.  I rode down to the other end of the block where Jeff told me the same thing.  These were not the days when children worried about someone hurting them or anything like that, but I became nervous about what Mutt and Jeff had said and what they were doing.

When I rode back up to the end of the block near my home, Mutt told me that I had broken the law by riding my bike on their block.  I didn't know I had broken any law, but back then we were very sensitive about breaking laws or rules and doing the right thing.  Riding to the other end of the block again, Jeff told me that he had called the chief of police to come and arrest me because I was a law breaker.  With that, there was a panic that began to set in.  Jeff told me that I would be put in jail probably for a long time.  Today, you could tell elementary age children these things and they would laugh at you, but I lived in a more innocent time.

In this whole process, my Daddy had come home from work, but I hadn't seen him go around the corner and up into our driveway.  Time had gone by quickly with this particular bike ride and I had lost track of time.  The sun was beginning to go down in the west although it was still quite light outside.  The sun's beginning to set should have been a signal for me that supper time was near.  What was I to do?  I couldn't get out of that block because Mutt and Jeff wouldn't let me go.  To make things worse, they had called the police who would show up any minute to arrest me and put me in jail for years.  I couldn't run off from the police and have them coming to my house to find me.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice, "Glendarae, it's time for supper...let's go."  It was my Daddy.  I hadn't noticed that he had walked about halfway down the block to get me.  I saw that Mutt and Jeff ceased their vigils immediately at their ends of the block.  I was so relieved to see my Daddy.  I began to ride toward home.  Daddy told me to stop and get up on the sidewalk with him, which I gladly did.  He then said for me to just ride my bike slowly in front of him, that I was happy to do..  I didn't know if Daddy had seen my predicament or not.  He didn't say anything to Mutt and Jeff and he never mentioned the incident to me again.  I also didn't know what to do about the police looking for me but with Daddy there, I knew he could take care of everything.

There is one big thing in this incident that I noticed even as young as I was.  As we moved slowly together toward home, the sun in the west was shining at the back of my Daddy.  I looked on the sidewalk and saw that I was riding my bike in my Daddy's shadow that was falling in front of him on the sidewalk.  For that short distance I made a game of just steering right where I could stay in his shadow.  That shadow wasn't really my Daddy, but I knew from that shadow that my Daddy was right behind me.  In my Daddy's shadow, I knew everything was okay.

When are you and I going to learn to live so close to the Almighty that we are always right in the bulls eye of His shadow.  In His shadow, we are close to our Father.  All of the Mutts and Jeffs of life can come and go, but in our Father's shadow, we are safe and secure from any threats this world may pose.


Dear Father...
I know  I am always happiest when I am snuggled up to You in the secret place of Your presence.  I have no desire to dwell or abide anywhere other than under Your feathers.  It's under Your wings I can trust and be free of fear.  You are just too wonderful for words.  Thank You for protecting me from the Mutt's and Jeff's of life and for providing Your precious shadow in my life.  I thank you and I love You, Father.     Amen


A STUDY SUGGESTION...

1.  Read through Psalm 91.  If you have a Bible you don't mind marking in, circle all of the words that are either names of God or descriptive words for Him.

2.  In verses 14-16, God is speaking.  Underline the "I will's" that are His promises to you and claim them as your own.

3.  Make note of verse 11.  I come back to this one often.  I need a whole band of angels on duty all the time to keep me safe.  This verse is a sweet promise to me of my Father's care.  It's a promise for you as well.