How Are You Letting Your Light Shine?

The sun is setting on the first month of this new year and January is coming swiftly to a close. January: traditionally, the month of new year resolutions, new beginnings, and new promises made to yourself and others. However, January is also a month where we feel as though the goal to make our lives better and brighter is as far away as next Christmas. What’s more, statistically, sadly, January is a month that suicide rates increase.

Look around, I’m sure that you can observe those around you whose smiles are plastered on a little too exaggeratedly. Those, whose smiles do not reach their eyes, but remain fixed, rigid, and unyielding stretched across their mouths. when we ask, “how are you?” do we really care to hear the real answer or are we already preparing the response of “that’s good, glad to hear it!” on our lips?

January can be a hard month: the cold long winter nights, the brief daylight hours where the days are short, but the weeks to payday are long.

However, it can also be the month where you don’t have to feel sorry for yourself because you have not met a goal, kept a resolution for longer than the first week, or feel you have let yourself down in some way. This January and for the rest of the year, why not seek to do things a little differently? Instead of trying, trying, and failing, why not aim instead to help someone else in their quest?

One of the best remedies for dealing with your own disappointments, hurts, and issues is to help someone else through their troubles.

You see, each one of us has been given gifts, talents, and abilities by our loving Creator and our responsibility is to develop said gifts. I am sure you have heard the old saying, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it.’ Well, one way of developing your God-given gifts is by using them in service to others. I know that this thinking is not fashionable as we are constantly bombarded with the message to do for yourself, look out for number one! Yes, it is important to do for yourself, but there is nothing wrong with helping others also. It can address two key issues. When focusing on developing your own gifts, you need not compare yourself and become envious of someone else’s gifting. Also, supporting someone through a problem or negative situation can help prevent you from ruminating on and overthinking your own circumstances.

So, how can you do this? My mother has always told me, “use what’s in your hands” this means, what you can do, that is within your grasp and reach, what is already under your control, use this, develop it and use it in service to others. For example, if you love to cook and you have become quite good at it, why not use this gift to bless others by preparing a meal for a family that is struggling on your street or helping in a local soup kitchen? I’m sure that you can think of many more examples.

As this month draws to a close, think about what you can do to shine a light in dark places. What can you do to brighten someone else’s life? The Bible instructs us in the Gospel of Matthew 5: 16 ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.’ Let us be a warm light to someone on a cold day and in so doing, brighten our lives with the knowledge that we are helping someone else. This can take our minds off of our own issues, problems, and circumstances.

Now, I have just one question to ask you, how will you let your light shine?

Until next time.

Love & Blessings.

xx