The Sun and The Moon...Letting God Use Me, Just As I Am!

                   Like 
              the moon,
           come out
                 from behind
               the clouds.

                    Shine!
             
                                             -BUDDHA


Years ago Marlo Thomas and Harry Belefonte produced a TV special called
"Free to Be You and Me."  One of the poems in that production has surprisingly stuck with me since 1974. That's right. I'm not making this up. It was so impactful to me that it got etched into some deep recess in my brain.

It was called  The Sun and The Moon and it was written by Elaine Laron. It went like this: 

The sun is filled with shining light
   It blazes far and wide
The moon reflects the sunshine back
   But has no light inside.

I think I'd rather be the Sun
   That shines so bold and bright
Than be the Moon, that only glows
   With someone else's light.

I remember clearly having a rush of emotion when I first heard this poem. I felt like God had created all of us to be like the Sun, filled with His shining light. 
I didn't feel like He intended for us to have no light inside or be like the moon, hiding behind the clouds. I remember feeling strongly that I  wanted to shine like the sun, not reflect like the moon.

Yet sometimes it just isn't easy to shine for God, as much as my heart wants to.

I don't know about you, but lately I have wondered if I fully shine the light of Jesus in all that I say and do. It has been a tough few months with both of us battling first a horrible flu and bronchitis and then me ending up in the Heart Trauma Unit. Truthfully, I haven't felt much like a blazing Sun filled with shining light. I have felt more like the moon behind a bank of endless clouds. It probably hasn't helped that Spokane has been either snowed in or has barely seen the sun for what seems like weeks and weeks.

Yet yesterday and today there was a brief glimmer, a few sun rays poking through. A sign of new beginnings, a sign of HOPE. A crocus, here and there. Just starting to poke through old, soggy, boggy fall leaves, left as compost. Fertilizer for a new season. Those few rays of sunshine were an instant reminder of God's Grace and Love. A reminder that Jesus loves me no matter what. Healthy or ill. Happy or sad. Courageous or scared.

I am so grateful for the steadfast LOVE of Jesus. I am grateful that He NEVER, EVER leaves me. I am grateful that when I have been emptied by life's lessons,
or a yucky illness, that He fills me up again. I don't shine on my own power, but He shines in me and through me. It's a blessing to glow with His light and to reflect His love. It may not be so bad to be a moon after all.

My word for 2014 is WHOLEHEARTED. I want to live my FAITH, every day, all in, with all of my strength, courage, and energy. Yet when those qualities of strength, courage and energy seem far away, and I feel weak and scared, today my prayer is that I rely on God to give me the strength that I need. I will trust Him to use me... just as I am. :)

God Bless, dear friends! 
I love you to the Moon and back! :)
May you know, in your deepest heart of hearts, that the Lord Almighty holds you in the palm of His hand.
Love,
Linda