Kim Peek is the man that the movie Rain Man was based on. He is an amazing autistic savant, who has an unlimited photographic memory. His father Fran Peek is his caretaker and they go everywhere together. To strike up conversation, his father will ask you your birthday. Kim can tell you what day you were born, and what day your 65th birthday will be on in seconds. He has memorized entire books and maps around the world. He amazes everyone with his vast knowledge.
Kim has rarely shown thoughtful insight. He surprised his father in an interview when he said, "My Dad and I share the same shadow." It touched his father and humbled me. I see Kim and Fran's relationship as a heavenly example of how we should be with God.
Am I walking so close to my Heavenly Father that I'm in His shadow? Do I get close enough to even touch the edge of His silhouette? I can say I have days when I feel the cooling shade of His presence in my life. But more often than not, I readily traipse outside His companionship. Without His protective shade, the burning demands of life dry up my ambition for anything. I crawl back, looking for that sheltering shade to revive my spirit from the scorch of reality. You'd think I would've learned by now!
How am I handling Life in His shadow? Am I reluctant and shy, or am I bolstered by His close presence to jump in and do whatever He asks? I should be less afraid to face anything, knowing that I am close enough to God to share His shadow! (Psalm 63:7)
Are you already there? When people see you, do they sense that something bigger is going on in your life? (When you share someone's shadow you look like one large being.) Don't be afraid to tell them what's going on when they ask.
Are you on the verge of heat exhaustion? Do you feel like you're fighting a battle all by yourself? When you were little, did you ever try to run away from your shadow? It's impossible. So it is with God. No matter how far you run away from Him, He's as close as the shadow of your right hand. (Ps 121:5)
Time to draw near to God. Read your Bible, pray and ask God to come near. Because the closer you are to a light source, the more defined your shadow will be.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Point of View
In Peru's Nazca Desert there are curious lines on the ground. As you walk around, there are pathways cleared of their dark colored rocks to expose the light sand beneath. From ground level, it seems like a maze of paths that stretch for miles. However, from the vantage point of the sky, amazing drawings come to life. You can see animals, people, insects and geometric designs. When you take into consideration that these lines were created between 200 BC and AD 700, they are even more amazing. How did these primitive people figure out how to draw these elaborate figures? And if the only way you can see the complete drawing is from the air, who where they creating these for?
I'd like to think they were related to worship. These drawings don't seem to lead anywhere; some figures go in circles. But one thing is constant--they are beautiful, complex and only visible from the sky. Could this be an offering made to something or someone bigger than themselves? Could this be a gift only visible to a higher being they believed lived above the earth? We may never know. Archeologists are still studying these ancient drawings.
Consider your own life. It seems some days you're spinning your wheels, going in circles. A door closes, and another one opens. Sometimes it doesn't make sense where God is taking you. But if you read the Bible, it says in Isaiah 55:9, "For {as} the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." God knows the masterpiece of your life. The paths don't seem to go anywhere, but to Him they do. From His vantage point, He's got a better view of where you're going. It's when we leave God's direction that our paths lead to destruction.
His word tells us, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
What will your life reveal about God's touch? I know it is hard work, we're moving stones in the desert…but once we're done we'll be able to look back at our life from God's vantage point: Heaven. What do you hope to see?
I'd like to think they were related to worship. These drawings don't seem to lead anywhere; some figures go in circles. But one thing is constant--they are beautiful, complex and only visible from the sky. Could this be an offering made to something or someone bigger than themselves? Could this be a gift only visible to a higher being they believed lived above the earth? We may never know. Archeologists are still studying these ancient drawings.
Consider your own life. It seems some days you're spinning your wheels, going in circles. A door closes, and another one opens. Sometimes it doesn't make sense where God is taking you. But if you read the Bible, it says in Isaiah 55:9, "For {as} the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." God knows the masterpiece of your life. The paths don't seem to go anywhere, but to Him they do. From His vantage point, He's got a better view of where you're going. It's when we leave God's direction that our paths lead to destruction.
His word tells us, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
What will your life reveal about God's touch? I know it is hard work, we're moving stones in the desert…but once we're done we'll be able to look back at our life from God's vantage point: Heaven. What do you hope to see?
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