In the brunt of summer’s humidity, heat advisories, and drought-like conditions, temperatures soar. Shade’s cool location becomes a hot commodity.
I thought weather stations declared the official temperature from a location in the blare of direct sunlight. Yet it’s the opposite. Air temperature measurements occur out of direct sunlight. When I learned this, it felt backwards. The shade declared as the official normal place of gathering such vital information? How odd to my way of thinking.
Though the air’s temperature is the same whether in sun or shade, solar heat bumps the temperature reading up, exponentially increasing the thermometer’s reading. Pavement radiates heat, just like structures and vehicles. Though we think it feels cooler in the shade, the air itself is actually the same temperature, whether in shade or sun. The difference comes from the solar impact. It sends temperatures soaring. We feel hotter in direct sunlight.
Overcoming Heat…
Shade, then, according to how air temperature is measured, as I understand it, is the normal temperature while the bright hot exposure of direct light brings about sensations of brutal heat.
Shade blocks direct sun, breaking its reflective glare. It diminishes the intensity of heat from light.
Shade shelters. Shade protects. It provides relief and refuge.
When hot conditions exist, we seek shade’s haven. In summer, we hover under trees in lush forests or at neighborhood park. Umbrellas dot the landscape at the lake, the ocean, or at poolside. Towels and light long-sleeve shirts act as shade for bodies baking under the summer sun. Even brimmed hats offer a spot of shade when outside. Porches, cabanas, and gazebos find full occupancy in summer months for without shade, we experience overexposure to heat. It depletes us, wears us down, and can harm us.
Shade, though, moves.
If you’ve ever stood outside on a warm day attending a neighborhood gathering or watching a sports event, you notice that people gravitate towards shadowed spaces. At the splash pad in the park, kids cool off by moving from cooling nozzles, jets, and sprays to another showering set of spouting nozzles, jets, and sprays. Adults and other onlookers move from shade to shade.
Shade requires us to be diligent to its movement.
Let’s consider the shade of Psalm 121:5:
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand…
Shade in the Kingdom of God
Within the Kingdom of God, the Lord, our shade, sets the norm, while all that is not within the shade—those things not within the boundaries of the Kingdom of God—heats up the atmosphere of our mind, body, soul, and spirit. God shades us with His delight over us, His joy around us, His love for us, and His endless showers of mercy. His Presence, His character, His very being provides shade for the soul.
So, if God is my shade, and I know that shade can move, it’s vital to stay attuned to His movements. He watches over me. Yet I am also invited to watch Him. I am to stay surrendered to the shade God offers as a sanctuary where He protects, provides, and promises His Presence.
Whatever else your summer involves, I’m praying for you as I write this. May you continually inhabit the shade of God’s love, His character, His being-with-us-ness. That’s to be our norm. All else will send the temperatures soaring beyond what we are meant to endure. This thought companions me through our summer days which are full of work and play, family and friends, laments and liveliness. Oh, what a wonder to reside in the shade of God.
For Reflection
When you feel the brunt of life raising the temperature as it beats down on you, ponder and pray with these questions:
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- What shade does God offer me?
- What needed shade do I ignore, refuse, or overlook?
- What interior movements might allow me to fully attune to His good shade?
Want more shade insights? Savor the whole of Psalm 121, a gentle invitation to notice God’s ever-present watchfulness.
May you dwell deeper with God as you journey through life’s humidity, heat advisories, and drought-like conditions. May you settle into the haven of His shade and there find rest, relief, and refuge for your soul, body, mind, and strength no matter the temperature of life’s atmosphere around you.
