The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

A few years ago the band Switchfoot sang a song called, "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine". It instantly became a favorite of mine because, at the time, my life seemed filled with shadows of every sort. And, I was pretty desperate for any glimpse or hint of sunshine.

There were issues with my children, my parents, my marriage, my extended family, our finances and eventually with my faith. I know now that any seasoned, mature believer looking at my life - from the outside - would have recognized very clearly the hand of God at work. They would have seen the furnace being turned up 7 times hotter. They would have witnessed the shaking of everything that could be shaken - including, and especially, my faith in Jesus. And they'd have understood that what I was experiencing was no different than what all sold-out believers eventually experience - intense time on the potter's wheel.

At the time, I simply could not comprehend a God who could love me and allow such brokenness. How could He claim to love me, then not "fix" things when I called out to Him? How could His word describe Him as possessing 'everlasting' love when I couldn't find any evidence that He was even listening? It didn't fit any description of love I knew.

Thankfully, there is hope for even the most immature among us! God's patience knows no end. When He looks at us, He doesn't see our self-created mess, He sees what He planned for us to be - before He even created us. He sees the gifts and callings that were placed in us long ago. And, He sees Jesus. Trouble is, all of that is hidden most of the time under layers of "life". So, in His infinite wisdom, and deep abiding love for us, He places us on the potter's wheel. He puts His hands on our lives and does what only He can do. Like a good parent, He ignores our selfish pleas and our begging for things that are not good for us. The wheel is not comfortable and at times - unbearable - but only He knows what the end result should look like.

Eventually, He removes His hands and we are left to choose. We can remain on the wheel and trust what we don't understand, or jump off because it's too difficult and we just don't trust that the Potter knows what He's really doing.

I'd never purposely choose to endure the potter's wheel - the heartache, confusion or loss in life. But it seems that these are some of the tools that God uses to change our perspective from earthly to heavenly, from temporal to eternal, from 'my way' to His ways.

The Potter's wheel changes how we "see" life.

What was once 'dreary cold winter' becomes a reminder of how much I love spring.
What was once sickness makes me so thankful for health.
What was once bondage serves as a reminder of how good freedom feels.
Darkness sends me in search of light.
Arrows from the enemy send me running to my Father.
Weakness reminds me of His strength.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in Him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Today, I don't mind the shadows so much. They help me locate the s u n s h i n e.

In Him . . .





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