How do you see shadows? if you picked a crayon to create a shadow, would it be gray? I always chose gray until an art teacher taught me how to see the colors in shadows,that dark spaces lived in vibrant color. Until that moment, I honestly thought shadows meant the absence of color, dull, bland, and lifeless.
I have often seen challenges and problems as dark, empty, miserable spaces.
What if we started to see life shadows as the colorful, enhancing experiences they are? Have you ever listened to a great story teller? A storyteller weaves adventure, mishap, bad luck, and victory. Without the obstacles; yawn, snooze, what is your point? We honor and respect people, not because they plop on their overstuffed couch, stuffing chips and chocolate in their overstuffed bodies while absorbing brain numbing media. We honor and even envy them for overcoming, rising up, beating the impossible. We admire the determination, fight to the end, conquering all obstacles.
Paul in the New Testament said, “we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.” The glass may seem dark and clouded, but, when we clean our lens of perspective, light shimmers through. My family giggles when I see light shine through colored glass. I even arrange glasses on the counter to see the shadows. After attending an art fair, my daughter excitedly insisted I go the next day. “Mom, you have to see the glass!” Glass artists displayed multicolored balls, vases, and bowls. Sunlight glistened through, casting kaliedascope colors on the tablecloth. Grains of sand and bits of metal or other minerals subjected to intense heat and shaping, became beautiful objects. These objects, forged in trial also radiated light and color into the shadows around them.
I don’t always see life challenges as beautiful, life shaping opportunities, until later. But I am learning. Sometimes darkness threatens to overwhelm. It feels that no possible light could shine through the muck in my life. There is one light that shines through the darkest dark. That is the light of Christ, given to every one. He can and will give hope and new perspective. Just as He fed thousands with a bit of bread and fish, or healed blindness and broken hearts, his light can shine through my darkened glass, revealing color and design even in the shadows. Amazingly, the shadow times enhance other lives. Those in your sphere of influence, see you overcome struggles and smiling at the end. They see the amazing person you have become and they gain hope. You become a hero. Impossible problems become solvable. The story becomes an epic tale of adventure and conquest. The clarified glass reflects God’s hand in your life. Thank God for the beauty of shadows.