It’s no wonder because the way the whole ground hog shadow works is this: Phil is a kept groundhog. His handlers, known as the “Inner Circle,” remove Phil from his cage in the Gobbler’s Knob library. Phil is given the opportunity to see or not see his shadow and then tells his handler, in a secret language, whether or not he has seen his shadow; after which the handler makes the announcement about the coming of spring. One last bit of lore is that there is one, and only one, Punxsutawney Phil. That means that Phil is 125 years, give or take a couple of years. Phil’s life is extended because he is fed an “elixir of life” that extends his life another seven years. Phil is one lucky groundhog!
The downside of the whole groundhog brouhaha is that in order to see a shadow you have to be looking down. Plus, living life in the shadows doesn’t create a particularly hopeful perspective. Helen Keller once said; “Keep your face to the sunshine and you will not see the shadows.”
Lesson #1: God doesn’t live in the shadows. Psalm 27 reminds us that God is hope for today and tomorrow and our confidence can be found in the light of his love. “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?”
Lesson #2: There is no fountain of youth or magic life extending elixir. The only elixir of life is the living water of Christ. Remember the story of the woman at the well (John 4:1-26)? Jesus tells the woman; “…but whoever drinks of the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in a him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Lesson #3: You can’t predict when spring will come. The only thing we can be assured of is the everlasting love of God and his assurance that there is a spring.
I don’t have much faith in Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring; but I do have faith that God will be there when spring decides to show up.
Copyright © 2011 Judith Bell
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