We recently went through pictures at my in-law's home. I love pictures. One in particular stood out to all of us, and for different reasons it seems. It was a black and white of my daddy-in-law. A young boy sitting on the end of a flat bed trailer, holding a little mutt puppy in one hand and sporting a half-eaten popsicle in the other. They decided he was about six years old, and the scenery of 1949 Itasca, Texas was in the background, along with two shadows. One of the shadows was obviously taking the picture, and the other standing beside. "I wonder who they are?", I asked. No one knew for sure. Speculations were made and then we all moved on.
That was weeks ago, but my heart and mind has not released the shadows. Who were they? Did they love Buddy? Did they deposit into his life (good or bad)? Did they know Jesus (and a million other thought questions)? What remains in the shadow of a man?....
The older I get the greater understanding of my mortality I get! This may sound silly to some, but, I'd been praying for God to reveal to me the significance of those shadows. Next thing I know, I'm thinking about shadows AND withering grass!!
Got it! Isaiah 40:6-8 reads, "A voice said 'Shout!' I asked, 'What should I shout?' 'Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in the field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breathe of the Lord. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.'"
Ok.....(brain processing)... Even the grass and flowers leave a shadow. They decompose and deposit something to the earth. Healthy grass and flowers leave healthy and good deposits. Diseased leaves disease...bad stuff.
"Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is. You have made me no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to You; at best, each of us is but a breath. We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing." Psalm 39:4-6a
No more busy rushing. I pray that from this moment on I will live a life of purpose, that shares and reflects the only forever thing...God's Word. That years from now, this withering flower's shadow has left good deposits with no disease. What an amazing thought....the shadow of a man.
