Shine Where You Are

Would you like just a little sunshine? A few minutes to recharge and feel the warmth and strength soak into you? As believers, we all have a place God has given us to occupy where we can be a light for His glory. 

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Where and how we shine our light looks different in each of our lives based on nuance. This includes how God wove all the fibers that make up you, a unique creation, combined with where He has placed you specifically. One area God has placed me is in the depths of healthcare, within the intense, magical and unpredictable world of inpatient pediatrics. The joy and wonder that is gifted to all of us in childhood brings levity when things are challenging. The curiosity and playfulness are only ever a few layers away, even in the toughest circumstances. God has used my deep faith in His goodness, a natural bent toward optimism and my tenacity to sustain me as a caregiver to these children and families while they are in the hospital. It is my great joy to be at their bedside and be an active part and advocate in helping treat their illnesses. While there is so much good, and many blessings to witness, there is also a heaviness that looms. People are in a heightened state of stress. Most have had long nights with little sleep. Fears and anxieties seem to grow as the minutes tick by.

Today’s society is altogether going too fast and a torturous wait. Someone is handling a decision that will change everything. But right next door regular daily things keep marching on. To an often unseen population of special needs children and their families, this is their every day, year after year. So many are just looking for a little hope. A way to calm the fears that are eating away at them. If you have ever experienced being part of a dark time in your health or a loved one’s health, you know firsthand that the pressure and gravity of these scenarios is consuming. 

And on the other side of the bed, the staff are here because they want to help people and see patients get better. In pediatrics we are flexible, hardworking and can keep the good of the patient at the front of our mind. We see beyond the diagnosis and see the child for who they are. However, our role is often frantic, thankless and requires us to carry burdens that are weighty physically, mentally and emotionally. And many of these healthcare workers do not have a relationship with Jesus as a place they can go to rest. They are truly doing their best, but from what I can observe, for many of them it is in their own strength. Burnout is a real threat. 

Isaiah 30:15

Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.

Here I am, placed by God to shine to both patients and staff, and in humbly showing up God reminds me that we are all in need of His same light and grace. The same light that we are called to shine, we also need from others as they give His light. I cannot count how many times a patient has blessed me with their faith and encouragement in a time when my work’s overwhelming circumstances were wearing me down. Or the times that I received a text from my mom telling me she is praying over me just when things seemed most daunting. His light breaks through the darkness. He allows us to be a part of that! Both on the giving and the receiving ends. It’s His beautiful design. 

Where is your surrounding influence to shine? It may be a different side of healthcare, or a different role altogether such as education, a corporate office, law enforcement or working with the general public in some capacity. It may be that your family of origin doesn’t have other believers and keeping relationships going takes everything out of you. It may be a spouse, neighbor or friend that struggles with anxiety or depression. There are so many places that the darkness seems constant. The way God can show others His love -through you specifically- and exactly where you are is not coincidental. We only need to be willing to be a vessel. You were made to shine right where He has you! 

Matthew 5:14-16

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Prayer Points:

~ Lord, give me the desire and discipline to fill myself with your Word and  truth daily, getting me ready for your light to shine to whoever You will put in  my path

~ Lord, Wash over any lies I may be believing or any built up resentment  towards the environment and people you have chosen for me. 

~ When I am weary of the circumstances and dynamics that surround me,  remind me of your tender mercies in the smallest forms.

~ Give me a hunger to pray for the ones in my environment who are carrying  these burdens without Your strength. 

~ Lord, bring me fullness of light and joy that I can share with others. 

Father, thank you for the ways you bring light to our lives. Your perfect plan unfolding has me right where I belong in this season. Remind me of your faithfulness daily as we see it in the rising and setting of the sun. Your ways are ancient and never fail. Extinguish any darkness that remains in my thoughts. Fill my whole being with your eternal perspective and truth to fuel my spirit. Gift me the sensitivity and steadfastness to fulfill my role well with those around me who don’t yet have your peace. Thank you that you are the Light of the world and that if we follow you we will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life (John 8:12).

In His grip, 

Bonnie Fagley

Flourish Women's Ministry

Mid-Way Baptist Church