Shadows and Growing up

Here's what I love: Growing.

I went for a jog with my shadow yesterday. The sun was shining in such a way that for the whole first mile, I got to look down at my shadow running along with me—a little to the right, pony tail swinging.

I vividly remember running with that same shadow as a child. Well, maybe it was a little different back then—shorter hair for sure. Shorter stature too for that matter. That shadow also ran quite a bit faster—occasionally even leaping or skipping if the feeling came over her.

That shadow walked me home from school and helped me crunch through the fall leaves along the way. That shadow could ride a bike faster than a car! That shadow loved running through the sprinkler. That shadow was especially good at shadow tag—ducking or hiding up on the fence to escape the stomp of my friend’s foot.

I feel like I haven’t seen that shadow in a while. But, there she was, jogging down this hill with me in Nashville, Tennessee.

“How did we get here?” I asked her (not out loud).

Back when I was watching her flow along the sides of the buildings in downtown Denver, I never fathomed I’d leave that town. What did I think I’d be? An artist was it? Or an actress? I honestly didn’t think much about the future. My dream was simply to be famous or to fly…whichever came first. I loved make-believe. I probably wanted to grow up to be a character in a book.

I certainly never dreamed I’d be here: jogging (for exercise rather than joy) down a hill--way, way far east of the Rocky Mountains. And, I’m not an artist or an actress or a heroine from a book. Oh, and I can’t fly either. I wonder if my shadow is disappointed in what I have become.

I’m not.

I probably never thought much past 7^th grade because I never wanted to grow up. Peter Pan was one of my favorite role models. Being a kid was fun—I wanted fun to last forever. BUT, what I found out, as time whisked me away on the unavoidable white water rapids of aging, is that growing can be fun too.

Seriously.

When I look back at a younger me, I see such a flake. Perhaps I had my moments of kindness or brilliance, but overall, I had very little substance. My character was about as weighty as a piece of paper. But, word by word and page by page, the Lord was adding to who I was.

My story began to take shape. There were twists and turns that I didn’t want. There were painful edits that I thought I didn’t need. There were joyful bits and sad bits. There was mystery and information and poetry and pictures—LOTS of pictures. And all of those pages make up a fairly solid book by now. And because I gave all the editorial rights up to the Master Author, I know that my story is in good hands. Every twist and turn has purpose. Every painful moment will be redeemed and utilized. And guess what else? This story isn’t over yet.

I get to grow some more.

I have opportunity to grow every day in fact.

Trials build perseverance and perseverance builds character. It makes your story better than you imagined.

But, maybe you feel like you aren’t facing a trial right now. Well, it depends on how you view it. If you don’t have a disease, if your kids are healthy and your spouse is kind—things are pretty good. If you aren’t living on the street or being persecuted for your faith—you may not think that you have any “trials” in your life.

But, I heard a story from my friend about her trial the other day—but, if I tell it to you in a normal way, you might think it’s not really a trial. So, I’ll take some liberties in the telling…

Fara and the Monster

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Fara. Fara was newly married to a handsome young builder named Joe. Fara was a talented seamstress and made good money selling lovely gowns to the townspeople. Joe was a busy builder and he made good money as well. One day, Fara saw a gorgeous tea set in the window of a shop. She needed a new tea set and determined to save up her money to buy it. However, it came to her attention that Joe needed a new leather bag to carry his tools because his bag had several holes in it and the handle was ripped. Fara knew that she had money enough to get Joe the bag that he needed, but she had saved that money for her tea set! One day, as she was walking along, she noticed a strange box on the side of the road. The box was not small. She could hear something snarling inside. All over the outside of the box, words were written that said: “Do Not Open!” “BEWARE!” But, there was also an envelope on the box. It had her name on it. She tore open the envelope. The little card inside read: “Dear Fara, Joe makes his own money. The money you saved is for YOU. It’s for you to buy that tea set. You need that tea set and you’ve been saving for it. Inside this box is something called a “Mine Monster.” It will help you defend what is yours. It will make sure that Joe doesn’t take your money to buy his tool bag. Simply open the box.” Fara was amazed by this note. Whoever had written it knew exactly what she was thinking. But, did she need a “Mine Monster”? Maybe she did. Maybe if Joe saw the monster, he would never make her use her money to buy his tool bag. Whatever sort of creature was in that box would certainly intimidate Joe. Perhaps she should open the box. But, then she thought about Joe and the house that he had built for them. She thought about the work he did every day. She thought about the holes in his tool bag. She could easily buy him the bag now and then buy the tea set later. BUT, what if the tea set was gone? Joe should just use his money to buy his stupid bag! It was decided, she would open the box and use the monster to show Joe that she had a right to her own money! So, Fara opened the large box. A giant, terrifying creature emerged and ate Fara alive.

The End

Nice bedtime story, eh?

Well, I am pleased to tell you that in the real-life version of that story, “Fara” decided to buy "Joe" his “tool bag” (which was actually socks and underwear) with “her” money. She decided that they were a team now that they were married and that the team needed new underwear and she had the money to make that happen. She did not open the box to the “Mine Monster” (which resides in all of us) and instead persevered through that little “trial.” She took a step in the direction of excellent character and her story is better because of it.

See, even everyday life is an adventure and growing can be fun.

Now, go have a chat with your shadow and reflect on who you are becoming.