Okay, be honest - how many times have you sung this song to your little ones?
My guys LOVE this song. When I sang it (for probably the millionth time) I started to think about this little star, shining in the night sky, giving light in the darkness.
Matthew 5:16:
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
We have the awesome ability to spread light in a world of darkness. (Yes, You!) When we are filled with the light of the Father we shine into the lives around us so that they may catch a glimpse of the one true light that is Jesus.
Sometimes we take it so lightly or maybe not think about it at all, but it’s a great power that we have. This power is entrusted to us to be light bearers in a dark world. It's the mission.
And like our friend Peter Parker says,
“With great power comes great responsibility“.
(Any Spiderman fans out there?)
If we aren’t continually “fueling” ourselves with God’s light, strength, peace, and love, we will eventually run out of steam and collapse ( the joy of gravity!). Where am I going with all this talk of responsibility and refueling ourselves?
Well...
Do you know what happens when a star collapses or dies? A black hole forms and that hole begins to suck in everything around it. Likewise when we are “burnt out” as it were, things like bitterness, resentment and anger start to manifest more and more. It starts to not only affect us, but those around us. Too many times, I've allowed myself to burn out and my family got the brunt of my "black hole". Yikes. Thank God for His grace and mercy every day.
Unless we connect back to the true source of strength, we keep falling deeper and deeper and we drag more and more people that we care about down with us.
Anyone know what i’m talking about? Maybe it’s you (don’t worry – it's me too!) or maybe it’s someone you know and you find yourself wanting to stay clear of them because they are so negative.
If it is you – then stop – take a breath! Jesus was and always will be your salvation. Ask him to help pull you through. Ask him to surround you with other “stars”. Ask him to fuel you once again. It’s that simple, but taking that one step can be hard, depending on how long you’ve been stuck in a hole.
If it’s someone that you know that seems almost toxic to be around – stop- take a fresh look at that person through God’s eyes. Yes, that means you gotta pray for them, first and foremost. And for some, maybe that’s all you can do because you’ve been separated from them, but if you haven’t – go shine your light in their life. Love them. Ask God to help you find ways to show them in a different way the love He has for them. Add fire to fuel and help them keep burning until they can burn brightly on their own.
We gotta help each other out. If we are going to effective in following His mandate to shine light into the world, we have to make sure we are all working. The world’s a pretty dark place and it needs a lot of light.
It starts with you mama, and how you shine in your home. Don't let yourself burn out. Your world needs you. You are raising little stars that will hopefully one day be a bright light to someone in their future and you can bring light to those around you too. God knows this world needs us to be a bright light.
So twinkle, twinkle, Little Star! Let the world wonder at what you are!