Shadows

My friend Bonnie was over the other day. While we were talking she related a story that I feel needs repeating. She told about a small child that came running into his house. The youngster was crying and yelling “it was chasing me!” After quieting the child his mother took his hand and walked back into the yard with him to see if she could find the problem. After but a few steps again the child again yelled and pointed “there it is” It was only the child’s shadow!
That story helped me realize that it was not only small children that were afraid of their shadows. Many full grown adults also had those fearful shadows, the difference was the shadows they feared were something in their past!
They were letting something they had done or something that happened in the past throw shadows on their future. The reason we call it the past is because IT’S OVER! That past, is past! It’s gone no matter how hard we try it’s still gone! We all would like to be able to go back in time and be able to rework something that weighs on us and change it if we could. But, we can’t because it’s GONE; it’s Past! Go backs and re-dos are just our shadowy dreams of “I wish I would have” or “I should have known better.” No matter how hard we try it still ends up gone! Even with all our prayers, its one thing God will not change!
Most religions provide a way for us to be forgiven, but that’s the easy part. The hard part? That’s us, you and me. Yes, God has done his part, now what are we going to do about forgiving ourselves?
If we feel that we’re walking with two shadows then we’re walking with a heavy load. That one on the ground is the friendly one, the one that is always by our side. That one we allow to hang over our head is the heavy one. That’s the one we must let go of!
We live with many memories in our hearts, most are good memories, but every now and then we all stumble. We all know that each of our lives is a one way street with no turn a rounds and that stumble was only a mistake if we learned nothing from it. It is time to turn to the next page in our book of life and go on living for today and tomorrow.
For our child, it was easy to explain and eliminate his fears. For us adults, we find it harder, because many have carried that shadowy cloud over our head a much longer time. And, with that added time we find it easy to build on that shadow and darken it.
When I find myself with one of those clouds that keeps holding back my sunshine, I have a method I’ll pass on to you. I find a quiet place, I sit down, and then I write the problem down, next I read it carefully. When I’m sure I’ve said it all, I crumble the paper, set it on fire and I watch every bit burn. I throw the ash to the wind and ask my Father in Heaven to help me forget it. I find this to be a last resort that works for me.
Each has problems. The difference is the manner each handles them. In time the positive person will find a way to overcome. The negative person just lets it build. I’ve made up my mind; I’m not going to let a few shadows darken my light. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine!