Groundhog’s Day was a couple of weeks ago. I’ve never been clear as to whether seeing a shadow means more or less winter. I’ve never understood how you get a variation on a shadow (doesn’t that have to do with the time of day?) And I’ve certainly never understood what a groundhog has to do with it. All I know about woodchucks is that my Grandad loved to shoot them. Groundhogs poked their heads up at their own peril in Altoona, PA.

Several years ago, while walking in St. Petersburg, FL, I really wondered what would happen if Punxsutawney Phil came up in the middle of Williams Park in downtown St. Pete. Let me tell you about the park. It’s named after one of the two founders of St. Pete, General John C. Williams. The lore is that the other founder, Russian immigrant Peter Demens, having won a coin toss, got to name the city, which he named after himself and his hometown, St. Petersburg, Russia.

John C. Williams got the consolation prize, a park named after him. That park is right downtown today.

Across from that park, on the north side, is First Methodist of St. Pete, hence why I can tell you this story. Also, across the street, on the East side, stands the Duke Energy building, and the reason I am telling the story. As the sun begins to set (in the West of course), the sun reflects off the glass facade of that building (whose west side faces the park), down onto the park. So, as you traverse the park, you see your shadow both on your left and your right, one from the sun, and one from the reflection of the sun coming from the Duke energy building. That doesn’t happen very often! And again, what would they think of that in Punxsutawney, PA?

Whenever I walked in the park in the afternoons, I would smile at this anomaly. I’m not sure it’s an anomaly, maybe a curiosity? Phenomenon? I smiled, not because of Groundhog Day–that thought just hit me this month–but because I found it fun, different, thought-provoking. What does it mean that we can have shadows from two directions? Does it say something about me, as the creator of the shadow, or does it say something about the Creator of the light? I invite you to ponder that.

In the end, I think that I smiled because I felt the light, including warmth, coming from both sides of me. And spiritually that meant to me that God’s light is on me, not just shining from whatever the sun’s direction is from me, but from all over. God’s grace is all around me. I walk, or I can walk, in the center of His will, and that Light will create shadows in all directions. The walk in the park at that time of day comforted me and made me feel embraced by the God who is Light

(John 8:12). God is not Someone whom I have to chase, He’s all around me (including in front of me). God is not somebody I can flee from– “Where would I go?” asked the psalmist (Psalm 139:7).

These are beautiful days in Boca. They’re the reason we live here, right? Enjoy the warmth of the Son, I mean the Sun, as it shines all around us. And when you see your shadow, smile, it’s a sign that God’s light is shining on you. And if you see two shadows? All the better!

Walking in the Way,

Craig

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10 NIV