“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." - William Feather

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
PSALM 23:4 NKJV

Have you ever had a shadow or a reflection scare you? I have. I was eight years old and we lived in a small village outside the city of Paris, France. My father was in the military and I remember how different and strange it was to have all your neighbors speak a different language. Because of this I assume there was some fear not really knowing what others were thinking or saying. The house we lived in was a small two bedroom, with one of the bedrooms upstairs. There was a nice fenced in yard with a tall wall on two sides and a large hedge on two sides. There was a garage, greenhouse, and an orchard. A wonderful place for an eight year old boy to play. I slept in the upstairs bedroom. I remember I had some sort of a nightlight, and one night after having been asleep for a while, I woke up. I sat up in bed and looked out the window that was by my bed. Fear gripped me as I saw someone on the roof outside my window. For many minutes I sat there afraid to move thinking they might see me. When I finally did move, I noticed that they moved also. I had been scared by my own reflection. I remember feeling foolish. I have never forgot this experience, and have drawn from it many times in my life. The valley that David talks about in the Psalm is not the valley of death, but the valley of the “shadow of death.” When I became a Christian, I remember that the fear of death, was one of the first burdens I had to be lightened. And the “shadow of death,” how could this harm me? Thanks for letting me share. Today God is doing for me what I could not do for myself…………..JRE

A.A. Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Throughout the Bible God uses the metaphor of the sheep and the shepherd. In John 10:14, Jesus calls Himself “the good shepherd” who gives His life for His sheep. David knew what it felt like to be the beloved sheep of the Good Shepherd. We can know the same restoration and protection and abundance because the Good Shepherd gave His life for us. As we make the commitment to turn our lives over to Him, we become His sheep. As we relinquish our self-will, our dependencies, and our excessive ambitions, we will find peace and restoration.
Becoming the sheep of the Good Shepherd offers a security that nothing else on earth can match. Not only is our Shepherd good to us in the best sense of the word, but He is also totally wise and all-powerful. This is why David feared no evil. He knew that even on the roughest path, the Good Shepherd was leading to comfort and protect him.
NELSON SERENITY BIBLE page 395
“The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

Hello Jerry,

what a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing that it was very touching and inspiring to me.

Have you ever done any writing for publication? Your story telling talent is marvelous.

Peace,
Mark

Great work as usual, Jerry. I feel very fortunate to have you here. You really know how to put it all together. This one is very deep. What came to mind was the shadow side of ourselves, the things we don't know about ourselves that are still hidden from us. I have thought sometimes that maybe we are most afraid of the good within us. When we begin introspection, many times we expect to find not so good things. If we are brave enough to continue on with the instrospection we find the good.