“The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.”
Psalms 121:5 NRSV
How about those temperatures last Thursday? It sure was warm here in the Beacon District. What a taste of spring we enjoyed, as we rolled up our sleeves, grabbed our sunglasses, and opened some windows. What a day!
As a youngster, I remember visiting The Enchanted Forest in Old Forge, NY, where a 19’ gigantic statue (at least to my eyes as a preschooler) of Paul Bunyan greeted you as you made your way to Storybook Lane, where popular children’s stories came to life in little houses. I remember hearing the story of Mr. Bunyan, but never imagined him being that big! Big enough that I could stand in his shadow, looking way up at his big beard, mesmerized by his huge arms and big ax.
Some of you may have a back yard or porch area, where you might have a table and chairs to enjoy the outdoors, with an umbrella standing ready to provide shade. When we go to the beach, more and more folks are bringing tents to offer a respite from the sun, and some folks might have a Shibumi Shade (created right here in NC by three UNC alums!). For our farmer neighbors, who are preparing the fields for planting, they rely upon their cabs for shade.
Shade is a place of peace and protection.
Shade is a place of security and shelter.
Shade is good.
William Brown helps us understand the use of shade in the words of the psalmist as we read, the Lord is your shade at your right hand. This “suggests unfailing protection in all of one’s endeavors, both day and night” (Seeing the Psalms: a theology of metaphor, 201). Unfailing protection. That’s Paul-Bunyan-sized assurance, friends. To trust in the Lord who is my shade in all my comings and my goings.
Blessings,
David
[pic above: Currituck County Multi-Purpose Field Complex – February 2023]