Boo will be one year old in four days. I was looking at clothes for her today at the store and I had to move out of the infant sizing and into the toddler range. I bucked it. I certainly didn’t want to. That would entail having to admit she’s growing up.
She can’t be that big already, I argued in my head. It’s going by too fast.

But, she is and I must say, it’s been a good year being her Grammie. There have been wonderful moments that I don’t ever want to forget, just like the one a few days ago.

Boo found her shadow.

We were out walking in the sunshine because she loves being outside and going for walks. All of a sudden she stopped and giggled. That’s not unusual. I can honestly say that she is the happiest baby I’ve ever been around. There are not many occasions she is sad (or mad). Her mommy attests to a slightly different opinion, but not too different.

Boo will just start giggling for no apparent reason. She will scrunch her nose up to make you laugh. She would play peek-a-boo all day, behind every corner if you had nothing else to do. She loves her books and will sit and turn pages for hours on end. She is my little piece of sunshine.

So little miss Sunshine and I were out walking in the front of her house and she stopped and giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

She smiled and walked a little further and looking down in front of her, she giggled again and moved her arm so that she could watch it move and then she giggled again.

“You found your shadow, Boo.”

Then, quite adept on her feet but not having perfected the art of running, she tried to run after it. The faster she ran, the faster her shadow ran ahead of her and then she turned and it disappeared. She turned around and was relieved to find it once again in front of her. We turned down the sidewalk and it began to walk beside her.

It seemed she liked that best – having her shadow beside her. She definitely didn’t like having it behind her where she couldn’t see it. She did like it in front of her so she could follow it, but beside her seemed to be her favorite spot.

I thought to myself, that is where I want to be with Jesus. Right beside Him. Not in front where I can’t see Him because I’ve taken control. Following Him is good but I think I’d like Him beside best.

I can hear Him better. He’s right there should I fall and need help up. He knows when it’s time to rest and we stop and rest together.

So as Boo walked next to her little shadow, I smiled.

I don’t want Jesus to be my shadow, I want to be His. Walking right beside Him, all the time, mimicking everything He does so when others watch me walking, they see Him and not me because I don’t want to be the one leading or falling behind. I want to be right beside Him.

I want to be His shadow.