In this final post about shining, I want to share a brief thought and a short, related poem.
The thought:
True shining is born when we are what we are created to be and we do what we are created to do. When those two factors dwell together in a person’s life, genuineness and warm peace are sure to result.
Today, I was thinking about the concept of shining, and for some reason the adjective resilient came to mind. So I did a little hunting. “(Of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions” was the first meaning listed in the online dictionary. In the etymology notes, it said this comes from the Latin root, meaning “to leap back.”
There is something about this word that should particularly appeal to members of my contemporary culture. Not only are Americans generally know for our future-focused, independently-formed outlook on development and improvement. We are also, now more than ever, attracted to and driven by what is instant, painless, and doubtlessly positive.
By all accounts, then, a resilient person should be admired, our ideal. So does it follow that the person who cannot spring back at all is a hopeless case, or that the person who cannot spring back quickly is not worth our patience, compassion, or company? And even if a person does spring back quickly, what if they dare to admit that what knocked them down has changed their life forever and they recognize it will never be the same again? Is resignation to a new view of reality a sign one is not really resilient?
Here is where shining, persevering, and being resilient intersect in my mind.
Sometimes shining the light of Christ means giving another a hand when they are struggling to get back up via their courage and faith that have taken a beating. Sometimes it means respecting their “new normal” and respecting the time it takes for them to adjust to that new normal. Sometimes it means choosing to love those around us who would be dismissed by others, simply standing by the hurting ones because true love is patient.
And sometimes being like Christ means facing our own trials and mistreatments and dark nights of the soul with all the emotions and questions that are human while we continue to put one foot in front of the other. Being real without giving up.
We are told, after all, to look to Him as our example: the one who sweat blood when He was under duress, the one who sighed in exasperation when others simply didn’t get Him, the one who went on a cleansing rampage of rightful anger, the one who withdrew when He was exhausted. The one who was swallowed in a dark tomb for days until He was called forth to shine, brilliantly, with the morning sun.
In all these things, He was not faithless or slow or bad.
Just because one does not spring back in an instant, that doesn’t mean one will not spring back at all. And just because one springs back in a changed form doesn’t mean the end result is wrong or a loss.
In truth, perhaps that is when we will most fully and brilliantly shine, as we never could have before.
The past couple of nights, a moon like this one has hung, low and brilliant, in the clear evening sky as I have driven home from various tasks. Reflecting on God’s faithfulness in every moment and our struggle to understand what it means to shine in challenging times, I now write and share this short poem.
Mirrors
I thanked the sun for warming my day,
Asked it to never go away.
But it did. Replaced by a circle of stone
Gracing me: cold and alone.
At the night stretching on endlessly
And the rock hanging over me,
I shook a fist. And I railed hard against how
The sun was light years away now.
Then a whisper rode to me upon the wind,
A timeless message sent:
“The sun is shining in a different form
And this light also warms
The heart which trusts a reflection bright
In the darkest of nights.”
So I lifted my face, set down my fears,
And reflected radiance in tears.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:4-5
“You are the light of the world… Therefore, let your light shine before all men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” ~ Jesus (Mt. 5:13-14)
I was invited to shine. But it was not specified at exactly what intensity.
That’s good. Because this little light is not equal to the same type of shining every day.
And that’s okay. Because the people around me, both known and new, may need different types of light.
In that light, here is a prayer for all followers of Him.
Lord Jesus,
You call us to shine. Let us choose to do so from a willing heart.
When another’s heart is bathed in sorrow, let us be a quiet lantern hung by their side, silently and warmly present for them.
When another is searching, weary, doubting, or weak, let us be a candle burning in a window, welcoming and patiently waiting.
When another is trying to rise above troubles and trials, let us be the gentle evening sunlight that works its way through thick clouds after an afternoon thunderstorm, cheering them on until they see Your rainbow.
And when another is overjoyed, let us be brilliant sunshine echoing their praise and delighting in the gift of goodness.
In all these things, let us be more than simply nice, far more than thoughtful. May we be eclipsed in the light of You so You are the One who blesses because it was really You who was shining all along.
