Let Your Light Shine

On Mother's Day at our church, the women's group handed out this little devotional book to all the moms. Each of the devotionals is related to a passage of scripture (don't worry, I'm not going to preach at  you), and as I was thumbing through, one of them caught my eye, and I thought..hey, that's something we can all relate to.

It's titled Let Your Light Shine, and it's based on a verse in Matthew 5 - feel free to read it on your own, if you're so inclined - about being a light. Whether your religious or not, I think the words on this page are significant, because it isn't just about Christianity, the passage is about being your best self.

Here's a little taste: "Encourage instead of criticize, love instead of hate, hope instead of doubt, give instead of take, trust instead of worry."

Lately I'm seeing a lot of hate on social media - this author hates this reviewer, this politician hates everyone, this group hates the other group...and it makes me sad. I'd just read the Let Your Light Shine piece when I saw yet another angry post, and so it kind of melded the two in my mind. And I thought, I think the passage is missing one key ingredient: to listen instead of talk.

Aren't these the things we're taught in elementary school - to be encouraging of one another, to try our best, to give back, to listen...as we grow up we lose a little of that innocence, and it's not about sharing half your PB&J at lunch or writing a kind note of encouragement to a friend or putting trash in the trashcan rather than leaving it on the ground. As adults, we get caught up in work or getting the grocery shopping done or in being right about a politician or a movement or an event. Instead of seeing the beauty of stopping to chat with a neighbor, we try to make that neighbor see our side or impression of an event and to change their impression to be in line with our own.

The truth is that there is beauty in accepting and embracing the differences between all of us...isn't that what we were taught when we were little?

So go out there. Let your light shine. Do your thing. Have fun. And while you're out there doing your thing and being happy, pass along that happy to someone who needs it...because you never know how you might lift the heavy burden someone else is carrying around...through simple kindness and understanding.

I know this isn't really writing related, but it's human related...and can't we all use just a little more humanity?

Comments

  1. A lovely post. I'm right there with you.

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  2. Great post, Kristi--I'm in 100 percent. And really, if it's human related, it's automatically writing related because isn't that what writing is all about--telling the human story? Hugs, baby.

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  3. I love this! And you are so right. The voices shouting the loudest of late are so toxic and mean-spirited. I like to think they are the minority--a really vocal minority, but hopefully, the minority.

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