This little light of mine.

Have you ever watched home videos from when you were a kid? Or look back at old pictures from years and years ago? It’s one of my favorite things to do when I go to my parents’ house. They saved EVERYTHING from our childhood. Toys, horrible DIY crafts, clothes, report cards, pictures, classic Disney VHS tapes… they have it all. The videos have to be my favorites though. Watching your younger self not have a care in the world. Whether it was performing songs, wrestling in the WWF, teaching 3^rd grade stuffed animals, playing dollhouse or Ninja Turtles… Sometimes you were fully dressed, sometimes you dressed yourself, sometimes you were in your underwear. It didn’t matter. You were happy, carefree, proud, confident, and it was so contagious.

I watch my daughter as she takes her first steps into the land of imagination. Where she can be anything, do anything, ANYTHING is possible. And as I struggled to come up with what to write on this post, I scrolled through my camera roll on my phone. Adelyn contributes to 99% of the videos and pictures I take. Typical Mom, right? And I get inspired by her. Her confidence in play, in belting out songs off key with the wrong words (see latest IG post), her delight in “wiggling”, her joy and happiness, the uniqueness, her curiosity, the quirky way she pronounces words… all of it just makes my Mommy heart warm. Like she’s re-lit a little light of my own. That little light from my childhood. That light of complete joy, hope, innocence, love, and pride in all you do. This little light of mine. That's what she is for me.

Have you heard that song? If not, here’s a line from a childhood Sunday School song I learned and performed in front of my church years ago:

This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine.

So what happens to our light? What happens to the magic of life, of enjoying, of imagination, hope, confidence, happiness? The simple answer is life happens. Life gets hard. Life is hard.

As we get older, the light of joy, innocence, love and pride slowly gets dimmer. We begin to encounter challenges, and often fail. We lose loved ones in death, friends and relationships because of disagreements. We face darkness. We are criticized, ridiculed, denied, lied to… We encounter some form of hate, anger, jealously, greed, bitterness, and it’s a lot for this little light of mine to fight against. And who takes advantage of all the darkness, the negativity, the hate? Remember the next line of the song...

Don't let Satan blow it out,
I'm gonna let it shine
Don't let Satan blow it out,
I'm gonna let it shine
Don't let Satan blow it out,
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine.

Satan tries his best to work his way in and blow out that last little flicker of hope. 

For most of us, our light is still shining, but a lot of times it's a tiny, weak flame. We're exhausted and just trying to keep our heads above water. We're not quite sure how to reignite the flame. Or the idea of actually letting that light shine is terrifying. Can you guess why? Here’s a hint… it starts with F… Fear.

Hide it under a bushel? No!
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? No!
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? No!
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine,
Let it shine,
Let it shine.

Fear of saying/doing the wrong thing. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of losing relationships. Fear of being labeled. Fear of opinions. Fear of offending someone. Fear of being questioned, doubted. Fear of rejection. Fear of not being enough. Fear of losing. Fear of uncertainty. 

Do you want to know what has made me want to be braver? My daughter. Do you want to know who influences me the most to shine my light? My daughter. Why? Because she is a light. She makes me forget that our world can be so dark, and that people can be so ugly to each other. Children are a light.

So here's a challenge: Use the little light God has given you, your child, and choose to shine BRIGHTER.

What do I mean by that? By being joyful. Being thankful. Being grateful. For life, for others, for moments, for memories… as often as you can. Being the best representation of positivity: kindness, happiness, love, helpfulness, support, praise… despite what the world is doing. Hide it under a bushel? NO! Let it shine!

Let it shine through a simple act of kindness.

SIMPLE.

My church has been discussing a movement called Promote Grace for the last few months. It’s a neat way to share God in a subtle, comfortable, unique way. An awesome way to shine your light. I know when I hear the words “share the word of God” – fear immediately creeps in. That means I have to approach someone, speak to them… I don’t know what to say. They don’t want to hear what I have to say. What if they ask me a question and I don’t know how to answer it? I don’t want to push God at someone. I’m not the person to do this…  Hide it under a bushel, right? 

The Promote Grace movement is a great way to avoid all those fears and doubts! And allow those who aren’t so confident to be able to share God with others. It’s a way to shine your light to others. The gesture/act shines the light and the #promotegrace card shares God’s word. Still not confident to do it solo? Involve your brightest light, your child.

This video shows #promotegrace in action with members from our church.

And here’s a link to the Promote Grace website (the link that is hashtagged and listed on the card itself).

Shining your light is limitless!

We put together goodie bags for the mailman, garbage man, and the “gate guys” on our base, taping Promote Grace cards to several items in each bag. Maybe the card went straight to the trash, maybe it was shared with someone else, or maybe they took interest in the website. I’ll never know. But it was a pretty awesome feeling to explain the plan with Adelyn, to shine our light, help her pass out bags and, hear her little voice say “Merry Christmas” so confidently. She has no fear, that little light of mine. 

Maybe the stranger won’t be phased by your efforts, but what kind of impact does it have on you or your child when you gladly shine your light? I'll tell you what it did for me. It feeds that light, helping it grow and spread. It gives you those warm and fuzzies: hope, love, happiness, etc, etc, etc. 

Promote Grace. You don’t believe in God? You don’t go to church? You aren’t a Christian? --- then be a light by promoting kindness in your own way. By spreading happiness. By teaching thankfulness. All of these acts are contagious and can be used as kindling to your own light, someone else's, spreading to an entire family, through your community.

Re-watch those home videos, re-light that flame from when you were a kid, that light of contagious happiness. Shine your light, whatever light you choose to shine – the light of our God, the light of happiness, the light of music, the light of love, the light of hope,  – just beam a light of positive acts and encouragement! And teach your children to not be ashamed of sharing happiness and love with others. Our world has enough darkness, despair, hate, and anger. Be a light.

We will be visiting with family over the next few weeks, so my posts may be sporadic. I’ll attempt to blog at least 1x/week, but my main focus is to be present during our time together. In the mean time, if you pray, keep this Momma in mind as I fly solo with a toddler and a dog for the first time ever. I’m already an anxious Mom as is, add in traveling, crowds, unfamiliar areas, and only 2 hands… and let’s just say I could be on the brink of a very public, hot mess of a meltdown! Enjoy your weekend and don’t forget to shine at someone ;)

And in case I miss y'all for Christmas ---

-Kelly