In our shadows

 On Sunday we made our way over to Grand Haven beach to celebrate Mother's Day. I had to work on Saturday and Monday, so I wasn't going to have time to make the drive home, so we made the most of the day that we could without being there to celebrate with momma. 

We started off at Jumpin Java. For those of you who know me, you know i'm a local coffee shop fanatic and whenever I go somewhere new, I'm usually finding a spot to grab an iced coffee at. It's not that I need the caffeine or the energy, I just love the atmosphere and trying new things, and the people inside are usually the sweetest. If you're ever in Grand Haven, I highly recommend this place! 

So we grabbed our coffee and wandered down the street a little and stopped in some of the shops before heading to the beach. It was about ten degrees cooler on the beach than at home, so it was a little chilly- making our time on the sand under thirty minutes. 

It all started with a game of tag. Just when I thought I'd be more in shape from working out and being active, boy was I wrong. Six and seven year olds and sand will do that to you. We quit after a few minutes and sat down in the sand to catch our breaths. We spent some time relaxing and basking in the cold yet bright sun. 

My youngest nieces wanted to go to the new playground they'd built there, so they rushed off to play. My oldest niece and I were taking a stroll and walking up there when we saw a huge shadow on the ground right beside us. At first we thought something was right above us, but then once we started looking, we didn't see anything at all.

It started to freak us out a little bit because it kept moving, getting bigger and smaller and moving around. We were about to take off running when we finally saw it. Way up high was a kite, blocked from our view because the sun was hitting it at just the right angle. 

Whew.

All the praise hands that it wasn't anything other than that. When we were still on the hunt for tracking down whatever was lurking over us, Izzy asked "What is it!?!" I replied... "Jesus? Holy Spirit?!"  Okay, so it was a kite, but really it got me thinking of how He is still there, how He's like our shadow and He's all around us. 

Whether we're stuck living our life with our heads down because things don't seem to be going your way and feel lost, unlucky and hopeless, or we're skipping through life with our heads up, praising God for how awesome He is, regardless of our circumstances, He's the one constant in each of our lives. He doesn't love her more because she was the top of her class, He isn't more fond of him because he just got a promotion. 

You see the beggar on the street, the millionaire, the homeless, the waitress, the CEO.. all such different lives, yet loved the same. All with their own struggles, all with their own mistakes, all with their own successes and failures. Not one of them is loved more than the other. We're all loved, completely, fully, entirely. Not just today, yesterday, and tomorrow.. no. Every. single. day. No matter what.

God doesn't answer her prayers first because she gave more at church on Sunday, He doesn't judge him because he told a few lies. He listens, all we have to do is cry out. Whether it be literally speaking out loud to him, or just praying inside our head, He's going to hear you, and He's going to listen. 

We're given the perfect opportunity when life knocks us down and we've got our eyes glued to the cement, afraid and discouraged, determined to not look up but instead to sulk in the hurt.. we look down and we see our shadow and we're reminded.. we're not alone. Not for a second. He's there. He's in our shadow. He's inside of us. He's all around us. Every moment. 
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