monday morning mindfulness: shining His light
I am so thankful for this online community & I want to be a little more intentional about chatting about things, encouraging one another, & reminding each other that many of us are probably feeling similar things, or have at different times. These monday morning mindfulness posts are going to be little glimpses into my heart & life: the good, the bad & the ugly. So much can be learned from different experiences, especially when you are practicing mindfulness.
With all of that being said, today’s topic is: shining His light.
My mom wrote this post back in December of 2022 & just never got around to posting it… so here goes!
My daughter came home from school the other day & told me she had the cutest story to tell me about something that happened at school. Avery volunteers as an aide at the elementary school for one hour each day. That day, she said a darling little kindergartener was telling her a story as the other kids were putting their things away. Avery said she had been sitting down for their reading lesson, so as she was listening to this girl, she stood up & was fixing her shirt. She was “front tucking” it again since it was kind of coming undone. After the little girl finished her story, she put her things away & went to get in line for recess. As she stood in line, Avery noticed her looking at Avery’s shirt & then front tucking her own shirt to match.
How sweet is that?! That darling little kindergartener wanted to be just like Avery, all the way down to the “front tuck” of her shirt.
Well we live in a small town, so Avery knows the mom of this little girl. She told her how cute she thought it was & how it made her day! The mom thought so too & told Avery just how much her little girl looks up to her & she thanked her for being such a good role model to her.
This happened to be a game day, so Avery was wearing one of her cheer sweatshirts. We talked about the importance of conducting yourself well because little eyes are watching you. Avery said that her cheer coach has rules about what they can & can’t do in their cheer uniform. (like get too friendly with boys, etc). Avery then said, but really those rules need to exist whether you are in your cheer uniform or not, because those little kids remember you even outside of your uniform.
Later that night I was thinking about this story & how it’s the same for us as Christians. Yes, we are ALL sinners & we ALL fall short of the glory of God. BUT, how are we conducting ourselves? What eyes (little or big) are on us that notice how we act & what we say? Do we go to church on Sundays, or throw on a Christian sweatshirt, or share a bible verse on social media.. & then cuss out the ref at the game on Friday night or share the latest gossip with our friends, or be dishonest about our child’s age to get into an event cheaper…
I want to be the kind of person that others want to be like. I want them to see me & see a joy that can only come from the Lord & to want that in their own lives as well.
I personally like to front tuck a lof of my shirts too. I hope moving forward, when I go to front tuck my shirt, it’s a reminder to me that others are watching & that I take a moment to pray ask God to help me shine my light before others.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:14-16
