Shine

Last Tuesday when I went for my walk the sun was shining so gloriously and it felt warm, actually warm.  Marley always goes with me but my little Puggle is always confined to the yard, shocking collar.  But today I said come on!  Let’s live a little.  He sniffed and peed on everything, everywhere.  On our way back is when he caught the scent of a rabbit.  I of course tried to discourage what I knew was coming but it didn’t work.  He went straight for the neck.  So I decided I wasn’t going to watch and went on my way.  Five minutes later here comes Bear trotting along beside me with his head held high and that rabbit clenched between his teeth hanging down practically dragging the ground.  Bear was so proud of that. He got far enough ahead of me and then dropped it in the snow.  He actually looked as if he was smiling.  Then as we reached home, he stopped right at the door, with the bunny in his mouth.  Well that didn’t happen.

Danny and Bear had a special relationship.  Bear was the guard dog; I guess that was the beagle in him.  He was very protective of his people.  And if you know anything about Puggles you know they are a one person dog.  They latch on to one and they follow that person everywhere.  Well I was Bears person, but when Danny got sick I think Bear knew that.  He stayed very close to him.  He would lay on the couch right beside his recliner just to watch him.  Every night in bed Bear would jump up and make his way right beside Danny’s hand, even when he was so sick he couldn’t raise his hand, he did it for Bear.  Danny scratched Bears chest every night.  That was what he wanted.  He wouldn’t go to sleep until that was done.  As the cancer progressed I tried to shoo Bear off the bed but Danny always would say, it’s ok I can do it.  Then Bear would snuggle up to him.  After Danny died Bear would lay right on his side of the bed where the pillow was.  He did that for a while then he returned to my side.  Snuggled with me.  Saturday night Bear didn’t come in.  Sunday after church, still no Bear.  Then folks told me what my gut already knew…Little Bear had been hit on the interstate.  He could sniff out road kill for miles!  But I take the blame for Bears demise.  I didn’t put his collar back on him.  The day we walked he looked so happy to go just beyond his usual boundary and Marley always seemed to make it without any problems.  So I let him wander and roam just a bit.  I let him live a little.  That proud trot of his as he passed me on Tuesday with the rabbit hanging down on both sides will be forever what I remember.  His almost smiling face, that’s what I will remember. 

I am discovering, albeit the hard way, some things about life.  I try to keep everything in my grasp reined in; my kids, my job, career, friendships, relationships. With just enough control that I know what will happen at any given moment.  I am almost afraid to let anything “live”.  For fear of the inevitable, just like with Bear.  If I let it out from under my thumb where I have control, something is going to happen to it.  Yes it could flourish, grow, and laugh, live but then again it can die!  How does a person learn to let go enough so that they can live, laugh, and love? I haven’t figured that one out yet.  As you can see my choice with Bear resulted in death.  All I can think of now is Bear is in Heaven with Danny.  That’s my happy thought.

“Our few moments on earth are like the pop of a flashbulb compared to eternity.  Be comforted; our separation is short; our reunion is eternal.”                           David Jeremiah

Have you ever thought of your impact you are leaving on the world?  How many of you have turned on that light switch only for the bulb to go out?  Our time here seems long, especially when we are in trials and hard times, but in reality, we are all a bunch of popping light bulbs!  We could almost be like blinking stars.  Here one second burnt out the next.  As I struggle through my life, it’s dark. Some days are darker than others.  Some days I have no light to guide me and other days there is a ray of light or just a hint of sunshine.  When our path is dark we need to learn to be like the sun high in the sky and shine.  We know the sun is shining no matter what.  Often times clouds get in the way so that it appears the sun isn’t shining, but it is still just as bright.  Sometimes the wind blows causing the sun not to feel so bright or warm.  When the rain falls does the sun still shine?  When the snow blows does the sun still sit in the Heavens?  Yes, it’s there.  So we need to be the light, no matter what weather or storm comes our way, we need to shine.  Some days when I get out of bed and that cloud is hanging over me I know there is sunshine waiting on me somewhere, I just have to find it.  Sometimes it’s that co-worker that is shining bright just for me, even though they don’t have a clue! Sometimes it is that patient that I may only get 5 minutes with, but they are shining, just for me.  I soak it up and feel the warmth. 

“Faith is seeing light with your heart, when your eyes see only darkness”    unknown

I can remember my dad talking about going underground as a coalminer and how dark it is there.  PITCH black.  But the longer you were there; your eyes became accustomed to the dark.  That’s kind of like us in our daily walk.  It’s like we are underground and our eyes are becoming used to the dark.  We are learning how to see without the light.  A friend told me the other night then when you are traveling your dark path you sometimes just have to flip that switch really quick-on and off-check the path you’re on and continue.

Psalm 119:133 Gods word brings direction and shows us what to do

That’s our light switch.  In the ideal perfect world we would leave that light on all the time.  But in reality, we get busy, we forget, we think we can find our own way; we have to see for ourselves!

Proverbs 4:26-27 (NLT) Mark out a straight path for your feet.  Stay on the safe path.  Don’t get side tracked; keep your feet from following evil.

When we set out on our path, we know the way we need to go, the way we even want to go.  We could almost follow it blindly.  But then the devil comes along with temptations and life happens.  We get sidetracked.  When that happens we have 3 choices.  1 let it define you 2 let it destroy you 3 you can let it strengthen you.  I choose strength!

Nehemiah 8:10 And do not be grieved for the joy of the Lord is my strength

But that doesn’t mean my path is not dark, difficult, sad, lonely, frustrating.  But what it does mean is that Jesus is my light.  He is just like that Energizer Bunny always making that light shine even if I just take that light and shine it briefly on my path.  That’s why it’s so important to take the scripture and hide them in your heart.  Sometimes when we get caught out in the storm without a flashlight, no batteries, no switch…we can pull from our reserves.  Those words that light up in our heart, we need to speak!  That’s our light!

“The light shines ceaselessly within us, waiting to be unveiled, just as the sun shines always but is sometimes hidden by clouds. To unveil the inner light we must learn to shine like the sun, impersonally.  We must shine because that is our true nature.  We have no preference about who we’ll shine upon or when we’ll shine.  We simply shine.”         Diane Mariechild, Open Mind

Every day we get up we go to school or work or if we are retired we do everything else!  We meet people all day long, at the grocery store, in traffic, at our children’s school.  We need to shine our light.  We never know who may need to see it.  Just like others need to shine for us to see, so we need to shine too.  We need to be the light.  After all we are still on that pathway.

“When all obey God, He gives us the light of His revelation and gets us where we need to go!”

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

There is a perfect day coming for us.  My prayer is for anyone that doesn’t know Christ-meet up with Him_ He is awesome. And my other prayer is for you that do know him strive to get closer.  Let Him be the light that shines in you.  And trust me I am standing right there beside you saying this is hard to do.  I am struggling, I am tired, I am ready to give up, check out, call it quits, you name it I have thought it.  Be honest with yourself, we all have had our moments.  We are human we get down, the devil finds a crevice and he invades but all we have to do is reach for our power source and turn on that little itty bitty light.  That’s all it takes.

2 Timothy 1:7 God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of Power, of love, and of self-discipline.

God has given a spirit of power, that’s all we need to flip that switch from darkness to light. 

There is a song by Matt Redman:

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

No matter what comes our way, the sun is going to shine.  When we go to bed in the dark, broken hearted, lonely and sad, ask God to go with you let him be your comforter.  And I promise, the sun will come up!  It will shine in your window and everything will look new.  It will all look like God has touched every bit of it.  I know because when I went to bed last night, that’s where I was.  And do you know just as I write this, the sun is shining and Matt Redman is singing this song:

 

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

As a child I learned the song “This Little Light of Mine”, as an adult I teach that song to the little ones.  But how many times do I actually listen to those words and apply them to myself?  Not many!  I need people to shine for me; I need to shine for people!  Simple!  So let’s be the light.  Let’s shine for Jesus, and let’s shine till Jesus comes just like in that little song.  Don’t hide it under a bushel and don’t let Satan “whoof” it out!

And just in case you had any doubts, yes, all dogs go to Heaven!