Flashes of Thought.

One of my favorite songs carries a line so gripping that it has lingered with me: “ You’ve got this way of taking away those shadows that hung around.” As I sat with those words, it dawned on me that to be human is, in many ways, to live under shadows. From the moment we are conceived in the mind of God, carried in our parents as egg and sperm, formed in the womb, born into family, and shaped within community, we are shaped by countless shadows. Some nurture us. Others wound us. And even those shadows we don't recognize or fully understand, we feel their weight all the same. Shadow, as a symbol, is deeply significant. First , shadow speaks of protection and refuge . Think of walking under the scorching sun, your body yearns for shade, the shadow of a tree or a building to offer relief. Or remember being a child, frightened by a barking dog, instinctively hiding in the shadow of your mother. Shadow was safety. Second , shadow signifies presence and closeness . You ca...