Shade, Sweet Shade

As we trudge up the hill to school, my five year old trots alongside me.  There is room next to Lydia in the double stroller, but today Ashley has opted to walk.  She feels a little more grown up that way, I guess.  Being on the ground also enables her to fulfill her role as look-out.

Yesterday on our way back from school, Ashley spotted a few little cactus plants that had cropped up along the sidewalk.  She is determined to keep us safe from those pokey little pests.  She has also taken it upon herself to alert me of broken glass, cars on the road and red ants.  Who knew that our quarter mile stretch between our house and the elementary school could be so fraught with danger?

As we near the crest of the hill, however, it isn't the cactus, glass, cars or ants that have my attention.  It's the heat.

Wow.  It is a hot one today.

The intense sun is blazing.  I feel a trickle of sweat run down my back.  The heat off the pavement is scorching.

I look down at Ashley and her flushed little face tells me that she's about done in.

"Just a bit further, Honey, and we'll be under that tree."

As we roll under the branches of the cottonwood, there is a noticeable difference in temperature.  I put on the brakes and reach for the water bottle in the stroller.  After a cool sip, I hand the bottle to Ashley, who has collapsed in the spare seat.

At that moment, another mother on her way to the cross walk pauses under the tree.

"The shade is lovely," she sighs.

This little patch of shadow is an oasis on this blistering day.  For just a moment we find relief, respite and rest.  We still have to continue on our trek, but briefly we have found a bit of much needed refreshment.

In the same way, God has promised to be our shade on this sometimes exhausting, tiring and taxing road of life.  

⁷ Show me the wonders of Your great love, 
   You who save by Your right hand 
   those who take refuge in You from their foes. 
⁸ Keep me as the apple of Your eye; 
   hide me in the shadow of Your wings (Psalm17:7-8)

He promises that He will hide us there in the shadow of His wing.  In that shadow we will find relief, respite and rest.  We will also find refreshment.  A spiritual refreshment that will restore us for the remainder of our trek.

Of course we have to head back out into the heat of the day, into the heat of our trials, but we start again with a sense of renewal and a reminder that we are not on this road alone, but with Jesus.  

And He's trudging alongside us as our faithful Look Out.