This Little... no, wait... BIG Light of Mine

From the time we're small, we're taught to be humble.  Don't brag.  Don't boast.  Don't stand out.  Be like everyone else.  Fit in.

For years, I made that my goal.  I tried to hide the unique and super bright light that God has blessed me with inside myself.  I pushed it down.  I hid it.  The more I pushed it down, the more I hurt on the inside.  I was worth so much more than I was letting the world see or know.  So, I decided to just let go one day.

And the result was terrifyingly freeing.

Guess what?  Some people are frightened by the light you shine.  They'll tell you that you're too "showy" or "needy" or whatever other lie Satan decides to bring about and speak it onto your life.  Here's what I've decided to say: I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  God created this person, and I can't be anyone else.  And who can tell me who I can be, other than God?

The following is a quote used by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech.  It's hanging on my office door, and it's been encouraging me in a time of need in my life:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." 

I need to believe and trust in my God and what He has in store for me.  I can't be afraid to let my own God-given light shine because it makes someone else uncomfortable.  

I refuse to let this world snuff my light.  I was born to shine. 
I'm no longer afraid to let my light shine. 
Are you? 
Be honest with yourself.

In HIS Love,
Lex <3