None of us will get out of this life without walking through the shadow of death. Shadows, thankfully, are not real. They have no power to hurt us.

When that shadow looms before us we have a choice to trust God or to fear. Some people go to unrealistic lengths to outrun the shadow or escape it—but the shadow advances.

Most people want to leave something behind before passing through the shadow of death. Something that will memorialize the fact that they once lived and walked and loved on planet earth.

My father wrote four books in his lifetime—anti-Christian, anti-God novels. I love writing. All I ever wanted to do since childhood is to write books. Once I became a Christian I wanted to write at least four books to counterbalance his atheistic diatribes. I write Christian mystery-romance-suspense books. I’ve written 45.

My father’s books never sold well and are now out of print. My books are all available and continue to sell—albeit slowly. Writing for me has been a lifetime of detours and delays…because no matter how good you are at it or how many books you write—writing books does not make money unless you are well known…and I like to eat.

My dream, my mission, my goal has been to write books. But writing books is not the only way to leave something behind on this side of the curtain of death. Scottish school children at St. Mun’s Catholic School here in Dunoon designed artwork for a metal fence along one side of their school; life along the River Clyde. It’s brilliant. It highlights the aftermath of WWII, ship building, friendship with the US, the US Naval Base that came to Dunoon in the 1960s, and wildlife along and in the river. A metal sculpture artist cut out the designs and welded them to the fence. For some sixty years that lovely fence has celebrated life in Dunoon. It continues on this side of the shadow of death in spite of the creators, artists, and dreamers who have passed through the veil to the other side.

Life here is temporary. Only God is eternal. We can all leave something behind on this side of the shadow of death even if it’s merely the memory of our smile.

“For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.

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