Keep Shining!!

I took a walk across the hills this morning, watching the moon wane, and the sun begin its ascent.  Lately, I have felt that I am the waning moon, just barely showing itself in the sky, rather than a brilliant sunrise.  And that has bothered me.

For one, I would like to be out of this funk, and off laughing somewhere.  For two, I would like to be off doing something other than what I have been doing.  But I am stuck. Stuck in the middle of taking care of an elderly parent, stuck in the heat, stuck in a rut.  Or so I have thought.

This morning I was listening to a song on my MP3 player that has been there that I just sort of skipped past for the last 10 years.  The song, by Third Day, Keep Shinin’ was a wake up call for me. 

I have been wearing myself out trying to do everything for everybody.  Yes, this is one of my greatest faults.  Because when I am in this mode, I occasionally, or often as my daughter states it, get grumpy.  She has even accused me of being like my dad, which only made me grumpier.  What am I reflecting when I am like that, and whose fault is that?  Answer to first question. Nothing good. Answer to second question. Mine.

“Let your light so shine before all men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven.“  Mr. Matthew had a point there that I often forget.  Not the “Letting your light shine” part, nor the “See the good works” part, but the “Glorify your Father in Heaven” part.

Walking out in the beautiful morning, I thought about all that I was seeing.  The earth, fresh with the scent of rain, the rocks gleaming in the sun, and the moon, waning just to a faded light; all of these things reflect the glory of God.  They don’t DO anything to show His glory.  I did not notice any of the rocks jumping up and down and screaming “Hallelujah! “  And the mountains have not put up any billboards advertising, “Go to church today! “   No, they are just what God made them.  The waning moon, although dim this morning, was just being the moon, not attempting to continue shining on its own power.

Nothing in nature, except humanity, tries to be something it is not.  It does its job simply by being what it was created to be. Humans seem to struggle to grasp this concept.  We think we need a new program, or a new mission, or a new calling in order to shine.  We try to BE the light.  And in doing so, we shine brightly for a while, then go out like candles with no wicks.

We are not self-powered green energy.  We cannot create our own light. If we try, we may burn bright for a while, but we will soon become dim, and then darkness sets in.  What we are is a reflection of the One who created us, who redeemed us, and who gives us the fuel to keep shining a light in a darkened world.  We don’t need to prove anything or try to be something we are not.

We just need to be still and reflect the Son. 
 Copyright © 2011 by Susan Linn-Gomez. All Rights Reserved.

The Buts of Life

I once took a biblical personality test for a counselor I was seeing.  He evaluated it, smiled and returned it to me, announcing, “You are an Elijah!” 

Needless to say, I was ecstatic.  For that moment, I thought perhaps I was not as messed up as I thought I was.  Elijah is one of my favorite Bible greats!  This was the man who drew down fire from Heaven and burned up 3000 of his opponents!  This was the man who prayed for drought and not a drop of rain fell for seven years!  This was the man who prayed for rain, and it fell out of one little cloud, enough to drench the entire desert!  This was the man taken up to Heaven in a chariot of fire, without having to die!  Few parallel him in the works he had done.  And for just an instant, only an instant, I secretly gloated. 

The counselor proceeded with his review of my biblical personality.  “Elijah was a great man of power.  But   There was that word.  “But” The word that always preceded not so great results. The word that, as a conjunction, connects something great to something not so great.

What were the “Buts?”   There was one really big one.  Whenever Elijah had accomplished something truly great, as commanded by God, he then went into an even greater depression and went crying into a corner.  Instead of feeling how awesome to be used by God, and feeling empowered by that, he felt fear, dejection, and in one instance, even ran into hiding from the weakest of his enemies.  At one point, he was so depressed that he asked God to let him die because he was afraid of a woman.

Wow.  What an eye-opener.  Not that it was something I wanted to see.  As the counselor went on in his assessment of my lack of backbone, he revealed that this one trait prevented me from moving forward, not just in life, but also spiritually.  There went my hopes of a golden chariot carrying me off in a cloud.  As I watched them fall to the floor, in itty-bitty pieces, I wanted to run and hide, and I hadn’t even finished out my hour yet.

When I got home, I was a mess, or maybe it is better said, that I had finally discovered how much of a mess I was.  I cried.  I prayed.  I got out my Bible and started to read about Elijah, just one more time to verify what I had just found out. 

There in black and white, in my face, was the evidence.  Yes, Elijah had been one of those people who fall apart after some big thing in their life.  But as I looked deeper, I found something else that my counselor had failed to reveal.  At those low points in his life, God came to rescue him. 

Digging even deeper, I found something so profound, I had to read it twice, even though I had read it many times before.  When Elijah was crying by the brook Cherith, and wanting to die, God sent a raven to bring bread to give him strength.  And when he was hiding in the wilderness, begging God to let him die, God sent an angel to feed him. The profundity that I found was that Elijah, mighty man of God, was just as I am.  A weak person at times, sometimes a little prideful, human but always in God’s tender care, mercy and love.

I am sure I will not be carried off to Heaven in a chariot of fire.  It is almost certain; I will never be the person that Elijah was in anything I accomplish.  But, because God loves me, I will make it through this life, tenderly cared for in my times of weakness, finally to enter the gates of Heaven. 

Copyright © 2011 by Susan Linn-Gomez. All Rights Reserved.Please take a moment to enjoy this video by Matthew West.  It speaks volumes!