Shadows and reflections are all around us. They leave room for our imagination. Unlike an actual picture. Which is more exact, telling, and unforgiving. As I look back through the pictures on my phone, I see several shadows and reflections. Here are a few...
" Not Much On TV"
July, 2026. I was at my mom's house for the Saturday evening shift. Once she is settled in, and resting, I sometimes go to the Living Room, and turn on the TV. The window is behind me, and provided some good light. While the TV powered up, and connected to the Wi-Fi, I sat on the couch, and saw my reflection. It seemed interesting enough to capture the moment.
"V-Twin"
2024. I had just arrived at work. As I put my riding gloves inside my helment and went to hang it on the highway bars, I saw my reflection on the engine cover. The clouds kind of gave it depth and background.
"Maybe we ARE taller in the morning."
"Unloading the truck"
I'm the youngest guy in my work area. And I was sixty when this picture was taken in 2025. Three or four times a year, we get a flat bed trailer in, stacked high with fence panels and all types of wire. We have a home made bracket we pick up with the fork lift. It's two or three times wider than the forks, and has chains welded to it. The guy up on the flat bed walks back and forth, and hooks up the chains. Then gets clear so the guy on the fork lift can lift it and stack it on the pavement. That process is repeated, with caution and precision. A mistake here would mean broken bones, or worse. I was probably twelve feet up in the air, with the morning sun behind me in this picture.
2015. I had just changed jobs. The old green truck was not running. One of the first things I did was take it to John LaCook for him to fix it. Electronic ignition, a new Holley carburator, and some other tweaks later, I was driving it to work. Fresh air, windows down is the rule. The early morning sun creates shadows. I watched for these every morning on the right side of the highway. They showed up at the same places. It seemed to me I was in a race with this unknown, but familiar looking truck. One morning I had my phone out and took this picture.
2017. We have some outside equipment here. Buckets, loaders, tractors. The one with the forks will pick up four thousand pounds. It has a pivot point to allow it to turn. If the loader is straight, it will pick up the maximum weight. If not, the capacity is limited. The rear end gets light, then comes off the ground. I've seen other guys rolling around on just the front tires, still in control, getting work done. I never used something like this till nine years ago. Once I got comfortable on it, it's one of my favorite parts of this job. Maybe it's not too late to play with Tonka trucks and tractors.
"Sunday Morning Bike Ride"
Shadows. Black, white, and gray. A person can hide in a big enough shadow. Without exact lines, even time blurs, and is unrecognizable. All you need for a good shadow is a source of light, and something with density, so the light cannot totally pass through.
The exception is a Sun Dial. Using the same light, and density, and adding math, the shadow from a well placed sun dial can tell you what time it is.
Reflections. Maybe these come from a deeper place. How can I be sure it's mine? Might be me, my father, or my grandfather. Maybe it's a reflection of my children that hasn't happenned yet. Is it flat, and one dimensional? Two sided? Even three sided?
Our personality, sense of humor, even our size and appearance are reflections of those that came before us. And, those that will folow. Reflections require recognizing. Knowing. Feeling. There are details in reflections that shadows just don't have. One thing I know, each one of us is a reflection of many other people.
Now consider we are made in God's image. Wow. No pressure! Genesis 1:27 talks about "So God created mankind in his own image..."
That is our source of importance. Also our complexity. It helps explain our differences as people.
We can choose to live in the shadow of the Lord, or embrace something of His reflection.
That's alot to think about the next time we see our shadow.