Who Wins When You Wrestle With Your Shadow?
Dec 7, 2021
The Disney character Peter Pan has a very unique shadow. At one point in the movie, Peter and his shadow chase each other around until Peter wrestles his shadow down so it can be sewn back onto his shoes.
Sometimes our past chases us like Peter’s shadow chased him.
We end up wrestling with it, repeatedly. Just when we think we’ve conquered it, it rises up again. Chasing us with regret, embarrassment, anger, and sometimes even pain.
One way we can eliminate our shadows is to live in total darkness. When there is no light, there is no shadow. But that’s not a great life, is it? Living in darkness without any light?
Truthfully, none of us can escape our shadows like Peter Pan did. They are always with us. But depending on where we stand determines how much light the shadows receive.
And remember, the shadows of our past do not determine who we are now OR who we are going to be.
If we allow our past to determine our current or future worth, we are giving our past way too much power. The stuff that happened in the past can give us wisdom as we learn life lessons from it, but allowing it to define us is simply not “of God.”
Because we live in the infinite love of God, a love that knows no boundaries and is relentless in its pursuit of us, grace always wins. None of our actions are so bad that they remove us from God’s love. No shadows are so looming they overtake us.
What shadows do you need to let go of today?
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. Isaiah 43:18
Grace and Peace,
Andrea
