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A Big Shadow
By Sharon VanSchuyver

We all have a bigger shadow to stand in. Is that a good or a bad thing?

ometime before the Feast of Tabernacles this last year, I purchased the latest Rocky movie, titled Rocky Balboa. Needless to say, the actor that plays Rocky is not as young as he used to be, so this particular film was more about relationships than knockouts. In the story, Rocky's wife had died of cancer a few years earlier, and he was struggling to maintain a relationship with his adult son. The son resented his father's notoriety, and in one particular scene he tells his dad, "You throw a big shadow."

That phrase is one that stuck with me, because it was very profound. It not only summed up his son's feelings of not wanting to live in his father's shadow, but also emphasized the fact that he really wanted to be his own man and earn his own merit. I empathized with the son, as he was allowing his father's fame to define who he was, by accentuating his feelings of insignificance in life.

A shadow of protection

That movie line came to mind this Feast, as my very fair-skinned three-year-old played on the beach with my husband. Every day I slathered our little guy up with the strongest SPF suntan lotion I could find. When I expressed my concern at how much time he was spending in the sun, my husband assured me that he was strategically placing himself between our baby and the strong rays of the sun, so he could play in his shadow. My husband (standing over 6 feet 5 inches) casts a big shadow -- but in this case, it was one of protection and care.

That scenario made me think about our relationship with God the Father. What kind of shadow does God cast? More importantly, how do we respond to that shadow? Is it with angst and resistance, or is it with an appreciation for the safety and protection it provides?

A father's love

In this day and age, it is not always instinctive for fathers to embrace and shelter their children. Sadly, animals often exhibit these fatherly characteristics in a much healthier and natural fashion than many humans.

Take the daddy penguin, for example. After the female penguin lays her solitary egg, she leaves for the open sea. The father penguin carries the egg around on his feet for several months, bracing through cruel winds, icy temperatures and blinding storms. He balances the egg on his feet, while covering it with his brood pouch, which is a very warm layer of feathered skin. During these months, he does not eat anything himself. His offspring's first food is that which has been stored in his craw for three months, which he has refrained from eating. The father penguin literally does not eat for four months, so that his newborn baby can have the food that will tide him over until the mother returns with more food from the sea.

Obviously, this is due to instinct, but if some fathers had even a bit of this sort of self-sacrificing attitude, it would be so much better for their families. In this example, it is the father's instinctive duty to keep his offspring safe at all times, until it is big enough to fend for itself.

On a spiritual level, I believe that God is very much the same way, keeping us close and protected in His shadow. Just as the baby penguins have to trust that their father will protect them from dangers that they cannot even fully comprehend, we must have that same resounding faith in God.

While existing in the shadow of another may seem stifling at times, it is actually a priceless gift when their sole motive is to protect, keep and shield.
The book of Psalms is full of praises to God the Father and addresses His protection of us in Psalm 17:8-9. It reads, "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me" (New International Version throughout). Psalm 18:2-3 goes on to say, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

So while existing in the shadow of another may seem stifling at times, it is actually a priceless gift when their sole motive is to protect, keep and shield. Consequently, I can't think of one place I would rather take solace than in my Father's shadow.

Recommended reading

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Copyright 2009 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved.


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Keywords: fatherhood father's shadow God's shadow 

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