Let Your Light Shine

Last night, Noly insisted on taking a toy dinosaur with her to bed. She even had me wrap it up in one of Jule's old receiving blankets so it could be her baby. I heard her singing to it over the monitor, so I thought all was ok. About a half hour later, I heard her crying, so I went in there to find the said dinosaur on the floor. She was crying because she was now scared of it! I don't quite understand, but then again, I'm not 3. As I was comforting her, I pushed the dinosaur under her bed so she couldn't see him anymore.

As I was re-tucking her in, she noticed my bracelet. I mentioned before that my friend, Whitney, has a 7-year-old son who is going through cancer treatments for a brain tumor they found in February. They have bracelets for him that say "Pray for Forester" and "Hope in the Lord," and I never take mine off. The cool thing about these bracelets is that they glow in the dark! Noly knew that I bought several of them to share with friends and asked for one to wear in the dark.

So, I went to my jewelry box and got one for her...the last one. I brought it to her, and she wondered why hers wasn't glowing. I explained to her that it had been in my dark jewelry box, and it only glowed in the dark after being exposed to the light. I told her to hold it up to her nightlight for a little bit to see if it would glow after that. I didn't know if a nighlight would be strong enough, but I figured it would give her something to concentrate on and forget about the scary dinosaur!

As I went back to bed, I thought about what I had just told her. It wouldn't "shine" if it wasn't exposed to the light. Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." We can't truly shine unless we are spending time in the presence of God, our "Light." How dull we become when we go on living life without being exposed to Him! But when we are in His presence and when we spend time with Him, we begin to radiate His light in the midst of a dark world. I pray that I glow as brilliantly as this beautiful bracelet that others may see Him and desire Him.

If you would, please take time to pray for my friend, Whitney, and her son, Forester. Today is her birthday, and Forester is in the hospital receiving one of many chemo treatments. They are a family that loves God, and we are praying that these treatments work to conquer the cancer once and for all!