Only A Shadow
Posted on Sunday, July 21st, 2002 at 18:00.
I must start this entry with a grateful THANK YOU to everyone who encouraged me this weekend. While I blindly conceded to deferring from Emerson for a year, an overwhelming number of acquaintances and friends are still dreaming (and more importantly, praying) for me.
In the journey of life, valleys are a natural occurrence. The first valley I crossed involved the loss of my mother to cancer but great purpose surfaced after the dark moments: finding myself in Christ’s community of believers, joining LiveWire, starting a business with ZJAM as my first client, being selected for Channel One‘s 2001 Student Produced Week, excelling in high school. Essentially, the reality of my life superceded my most outstanding imaginations.
I consider valleys of life dark times because I am usually living in the shadow of something seemingly overwhelming. Three delightfully ironic characteristics of shadows are that they cannot hurt me, they are usually bigger than the real issues, and they are created by something blocking a light source. My light source is Jesus Christ and His love shines through everything that might cast shadows upon my life.
The results of the first valley cannot be ignored. I will keep moving through this shadow-filled valley of life and, like Steven Curtis Chapman, beg God to bring it on if these circumstances strengthen me and yield mind-blowing results at the top of the hypothetical hillside.
