The weight of your shadow (revisited)

This is a post from 2008.  These words continue to challenge me even today.  I thought I would share them with you once more. I hope you enjoy these musings from eight years ago.

This evening I've been thinking about the lives that have been changed or influenced by the shadow of my life as our lives pass each other. I have been thinking about it as I reflect on my son's life. As I mentioned in the last post he turned 33 today. In my thoughts over the last 33 years I have thought about his life and the lives of others who have found themselves in the shadow of my passing. I will be honest that there are some I have hurt and others I have helped. I have cared for many, but I'm sure I simply didn't see some who were looking to me for help, friendship or encouragement. In this life we will never really know the impact of our lives on the lives of others. Some we have helped, some we have disappointed. The weight of our shadows is much more than we realize. That's why Jesus told his disciples that the most important thing we can do in our lives is to love God first, and then love one another. What he was communicating was that the most important things in our lives are our relationships with God and each other. My impact on eternity is closely connected to how I treat others as my shadow and I pass by. As I have thought about this I have been reading notes from people whose lives have been touched by the shadow of my life. Some have been changed, some were hurt or disappointed by me, some were helped and others found direction as I shared what God had done in my life. All of these thoughts and lives make me keenly aware of the weight of my shadow. Our shadows are much heavier than we will ever know. When you have a moment read Philippians 2:1-11 and pray about the weight of your shadow as the sun rises on the new day ahead.