Modern Day Samaritan Woman

This little light of mine!!!

I’m going to let it shine!!!

Like most kids of my generation I grew up singing this song in Sunday School and like most kids I really didn’t get it. The words were easy enough and the tune very catchy; but the actual “meaning” was beyond what I could understand. Even as an adult I couldn’t quite grasp what it meant to shine.

Did it mean I had to be a “In Your Face” Bible bashing kind of Christian ???  But then how did that work ??? When on the other hand we were taught to be discreet and have respect for the opinions and feelings of other people ???

Very confusing for this girl.

Until one day while reading my bible, Holy Spirit directed

 me to look at my bedside lamp…

I noticed that the light shone where it could. There were many dark corners in the room where it did not shine and many obstructions in the lights path, but it didn’t attempt to go around corners to light up every single obscure corner.

In addition, instead of lighting around the obstacles it illuminated them, and threw huge shadows of the obstacles across the walls, making them appear even larger…

The light didn’t fret about dark areas it couldn’t reach and it didn’t fret because it was a 40 watt globe… instead of a 100 Watt Globe.

It shone for what it was worth, for as far as it could shine and for as long as it was permitted to be switched on.

The interesting thing was the darkness was never really gone…It was merely over shadowed by the light… As soon as I turned my bedside lamp off the darkness was back.

In my attempt to shine my light in this world I also wanted to throw my light in there, wade in waist deep and rescue refugees, the homeless and abandoned; but to my disappointment I am simply not called or able to go across the world and rescue these people. And even if I did where would I take them?…Clearly I am not a 100 watt bulb like the Mother Theresa’s and all those other brave people who are doing just that. (And I don’t say this lightly…some people are doing amazing things)

Not to be deterred by this, I decided to assist the homeless and poor closer to home. This was done with relish and joy, until I realised that there were just too many hungry, poor, helpless people. Too many to feed and clothe and all the work and effort in the world didn’t change the fact that I could only help a very few of them at a time…Clearly I wasn’t a 60 watt bulb either.

What then could I do?

I could be available to those people who are in my life, who cross paths with me daily at work and at home and even here on my blog space. I can shine and share God’s Joy with those people I can reach and not fret about those that I can’t reach. (Of course I can still pray for them and care about what happens to them). I can shine in my little area, on the strength given to me by God and I can shine for as long as I am permitted to shine, and as brightly as I can manage.

I will never be able to push the darkness away. It is always there in the back ground but I can illuminate the small area where I do have influence and allow my light to reach the areas that it should. Perhaps even as small 40 watt globe my light will illuminate the obstacles and evil in my world and make them larger than life, so that they can be exposed and removed.

A light is a light no matter how small or how dim…

So, sing with me…”This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine….”

Do you like me often wonder what you can do to make the world a better place? And then feel overwhelmed when the needs out there are really more than you imagined or can manage.

*Hugs* till next time.

Ariéte