In The Shadow Of A Pebble

I went running today.

A scenic, little dirt road runs by our house, and it makes a perfect outdoor running track. Starting out on my one-mile-there-one-mile-back run, I had a lot on my mind. Things hadn't quite worked out like I'd expected them to, and a pile of large projects loomed in my near future. And sometimes instead of clearing my head, I end up focusing more on the problems.

Turning around and heading back down the road towards home, I was running towards the setting sun. Of course, my writer's mind began involuntarily narrating imagery and symbolism. But then I noticed the stones.

Anyone who has ever driven on a dirt road is aware that in fact only about 25% of the road is dirt. The other 75% is gravel, those little pebbles that attack your car with pinging ferocity. (And do not question my percentages. I've lived on a dirt road for most of my life.) These little rocks, as the sun moved to level with the ground, cast long, thin, tiny shadows.

And I realized I was standing in the shadow of a pebble.

We all are at one time or another.

An obstacle looms in our path, and it's so dark we're sure the light has left us. All we can see is the mountain before us and the darkness around us. And really these difficulties we face are just little rocks, scattered across the long road of life, and we're standing in the shadow.

While right in front of us, the Son is shining.