Today concludes 31 Days of Letting Your Lil Light Shine. As I look back on the month, two words come to mind: Do something.
I almost excused us all from doing anything extravagant, like Kylie's plan to serve in Nepal for three years. (Read her story here.) But, why not? Why do we limit ourselves to mediocrity as if that's God's calling for us? In fact, God calls us as the weak to be strong in Him, and the foolish to be wise in Him. He replaces our ashes with beauty, and exchanges our heaviness for praise.
Extravagance in the midst of our mediocrity is exactly the kind of testimony--the kind of light--God calls us to be.
Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk. They were noticeably changed. People saw that they were different. They were no longer abandoned to a hospital for the crazies or blindly begging for pennies by the road or needing carried by friends. They were whole in Jesus. Outsiders could see that, and when they asked about it, the testimony was simple: Jesus healed me. Jesus made me whole.
When we are moved to do something and we do it, no matter how small, it's an extravagant thing. There's no limit to the ways Jesus' presence makes our lives whole and serves as a natural testimony of Him. Be changed by Him throughout the everyday, and allow that to move you to do something.
When I asked my friend, Eyren, how she lets her light shine, she shared this...
>> Sometimes when I hope to shine with a “good deed,” God humbles me by letting me know it is not what I do, but the spirit in which I do it. Not waiting for acknowledgement, but simply doing the right thing. <<
Good deeds aren't necessarily something to check off our list of ways to be a Christian. They are a natural response to Christ's direction in our lives. And when we follow that lead, it makes a difference for those around us.
Michelle of This Little Light shares how her light shines with a willingness to reach out even in the little things...
Tell me that story again, sweetheart ... please!
I love making people smile. Getting them to laugh is a bonus, but either way, there's just something wonderful about seeing someone's face light up from the inside.
It's easy with family and friends, because you KNOW what brings them joy: A cup of their favorite coffee, being the one they can turn to without question when they need a hand, fixing them soup when they're sick, or recounting {for the 87th time!} that funny story about you and the substitute teacher with the attitude who put you through the ringer in 8th grade World Studies. {Gets them every time!}
With strangers, it just takes a moment of channeling your inner-extrovert: Be the one to make eye contact and smile. It's such a little thing, but have you ever noticed how we seem to be programmed to avoid it? So I play the rebel and smile away and count the happy faces I see in return. And a genuine compliment? Powerful.
I remember two specific incidents: both to women at the supermarket with their children who seemed frazzled. {Been there!} One had the most amazing and beautiful red hair I'd ever seen, while the other looked crazy cute in a simple dress and necklace I admired. I told them both the truth and you'd have thought I'd offered to take their children home, feed them, and put them down for their naps while they went to the spa.
It doesn't take much. Just the willingness to reach out to someone and share the joy you feel … your light … and hope they'll accept it. They usually do. Happily. <<
