The Shade – Devotion 114

When it is really hot outside, a path with a covered canopy of trees is a welcome sight.  It is a reprieve from the sun beating down and could even cause a bit of breeze to blow.  A little break from the continual exposure really does make a difference.  I found this out in an even more concrete way a couple of weeks ago.

I opted to go running with a friend in the heat of the day.  It is usually not a good idea, but it was the run that we could both fit into the busy schedules we were juggling.  It seemed to work.  The only problem was the heat.  There wasn’t much breeze and the sun was beating down.  I ran on a familiar path and we were approaching a small hill.  I promised my friend that if we simply made it over the hill, there would be shade waiting.  The trees were on both sides and it would provide us with a break from the constant beating we were taking from the sun.  We were both in much anticipation of the shade that was sure to come.  Except, it didn’t.  We made it to the top of the hill, but there was no shade.  There were trees as I had promised, but the sun was positioned just right to shine right down the middle of the path – where we were running, of course.  My friend looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

What I had not taken into account was I usually ran at a much different time.  The sun was never bearing straight down.  So this path was shaded and perfect.  That was not the case at the time we had chosen to run.  I had forgotten we were not running at my usual time.  There was no shade in sight.

What do we do at that point?  We were disappointed, to say the least.  My friend will never let me live this down.  But we didn’t stop and decide that we weren’t going any further simply because things didn’t turn out as we wanted.  We kept moving.  We kept going, one footstep at a time.  We made it to our goal without the shade.  We didn’t give up just because we didn’t get the break we so desperately wanted.

How many times do we just want to give up because things don’t go as we anticipate?  When our plans are not laid out as we were sure they would be, what do we do?  We face so many disappointments in life that we could be weighed down with them.  Or we could continue to move forward, one step at a time, until we reach our goal.  Today, I’ll continue to move forward…there will be shade on the next route, I am sure.  The break will come eventually.  It will be okay.

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.

Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery.  Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery