You’re Getting Your Shadows Mixed Up.

                                         You’re Getting Your Shadows Mixed Up…..

I remember once I was working as a leader at a children’s Bible Camp. A couple of times during the week the leaders were given a few hours rest period. On one such period I was sitting with a few other leaders when one young lady lifted a tennis racket. There was a tennis court just in front of where we were sitting so I lifted a racket too and went to the other side of the court. I assumed the position that all of the top players do and we proceeded to play a game. I returned her shot and she missed the ball. “Oh, Praise the Lord,” she shouted out.

I looked at her and thought to myself, “Ok. She likes to shout it out”. After another couple of shots she missed another one. She did a little dancing type spin on the court and shouted out, “Oh. Praise the Lord!”

“Ok”, I thought. She really does like to proclaim these things. The same thing happened a third time to which I called out, “Why are you saying ‘Praise the Lord’ when I’m beating you?” “Oh,” she said. “I just Praise the Lord for everything”. Then she giggled.

But I wasn’t giggling. I was holding the racket and wondering would it be more effective if I threw the racket at her horizontally like a boomerang or vertically like a tomahawk. I have no more memories of that day or even what her name was. It’s a little light hearted memory of mine but one that stuck with me anyway. (And as a disclaimer, I never really was going to throw a racket at anyone. I was being flippant within the moment of that time).

Anyway. Jump forward twenty years. And I find myself in a very dark period in my life. Don’t get me wrong. That time in my life was a very dark road, but it was also my own choice to go there.

Sometimes during those days events got too much for me. And I just went out for long walks – very long walks – and let the thoughts tumble over in my mind to see if anything made any sense.

I prayed. No one knew about it. But I prayed as hard as I have ever prayed before. If I couldn’t find any sense in my own thoughts then perhaps I could find something of God’s way to help me.

There was one particular occasion when I was wandering through some very desolate countryside. I was alone for as far as the eye could see. There was no one to be seen anywhere. And I was praying. Again.

“Lord, why am I continually walking through the ‘valley of the shadow of death’. Will there ever be any end to this road?”

I heard a voice. I stopped sharply. Not a physical voice as if someone were there next to me. But a voice just the same. It was in my mind but it sounded so real that I was really tempted to look around. The voice said, “You’re getting your shadows mixed up. You’re not ‘walking through the valley of the shadow of death’. You’re ‘living under the shadow of my wings’.”

I was stood upright. Staring straight ahead. And I whispered, “Oh. Praise the Lord”.

There were many more bad experiences that I had to journey through. Many more dark times. But I came through them all. There were people to help me all the way. Counsellors, Solicitors, friends and workmates.

But looking back I now realise that the thing that helped me most was the sense that God’s had His hand on my shoulder and a gentle voice appeared to whisper….

“Shhh. Just stand still. Everything is going to work out”.

“Oh. Praise the Lord”.

 

Email:- TheseLivelyOracles@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

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