𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞

I'm a pretty outgoing person. It's not always easy to be that way, though. Sometimes, you get hurt so badly that you want to just shut down. You don't want to pretend to be happy just to please the people around you, and you don't want to give a flip about people you meet when it was "people" that hurt you. I've been there. I've been there lots of times and I've even been there recently. So many times have I thought, "I understand how people turn inwards and isolate themselves." So many times have I thought, "I'm finally there. This one hurt me badly enough that I'm ready to put those walls up. Shutting out the bad is worth shutting out the good."  

  

But you know what? I don't. Because there are always a few people that give me pause. There are always a few people who I could never shut out, even if they sometimes hurt me, too.  

  

There's another reason, too, though. As God's children, we are called to not give up. As God's children, we are called upon to rest in His strength and be channels of His love. We don't necessarily have to do anything because, truthfully, He does all the work. But we do have to ensure His flow is unobstructed. If we put up walls to shut out the world then, not only are we saying that His grace isn't sufficient to pull us through, but we are not allowing our bodies to be the transit device of His message to everyone we meet.  

  

wow.  

We spend so much time in this culture focusing on ourselves and the negative impact on our own mind and spirit, on our own health, when we let negativity reside inside. But consider this thought - your inner negativity is blocking God's work.  

  

When you walk in the door after work and the first face you see is your spouse's or your child's or your parent's, you look to that face either with a question in mind (How is this exchange going to go?) or with an expectation (She's always glad to see me). That face is watching yours for the same cue. If you are allowing your negativity to spill over, instead of God's love, then you may be setting a tone for someone who was hoping you would be glad to see him. Worse, you may be hurting the heart of someone who simply expected your smile, who never suspected you would withhold it. 

  

The same interchange happens everywhere we go - with our friends at church, with our coworkers at the office, with strangers at the post office or on the street. Maybe someone's expectation is that you will not even notice them - but you do. Think to when someone has surprised you by speaking to you with a smile in their voice. Doesn't it feel good? Think of someone you meet with an expectation, not a question. Doesn't it feel good to know that this one person is always happy to see you? 

  

It's not always hurt that clogs our channels, though. Sometimes it's anger (which is really just hurt on fire, right?), sometimes it's fatigue, and sometimes it's fear (fear of what - hurt?). Whatever it is, ask God to clear it out. Whatever brought the debris that constitutes the clog has probably left us too weary to clear it out ourselves but - again - we don't have to do the work. God will do it. Be willing to let Him.  

  

I have this idea in my head of what a "lady" is. This idea is a product of my upbringing. My mother, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, and cousins have taught me, whether in words or by actions, that a lady perseveres. A lady is kind and patient. She keeps no record of wrongs and allows the imperfect to disappear. She always protects, always trusts, always hopes. A lady is all of that. A lady IS love, by God's own definition (1 Cor 13).  

What I have learned from the men in my life is that the same rules apply for them. This is why we must keep ourselves unobstructed. Let your love flow; let your light shine - for it belongs to the great I Am.