When people come to speak to me, whatever they say, I am struck by a kind of incandescence in them …” Incandescence
Whatever you think about God and the spiritual part of life, I think you will agree that there are people who brighten a room when they come in, and people whose presence brings encouragement and hope and joy and fun. That’s how I want to be. I want people to look forward to being around me.
I have a book by Ben Witherington III called Incandescence. I like that word. It makes me think of a shimmering, glowing brightness around something or someone. That’s what I want to have. That’s what I want to be … incandescent!
I think every person alive has an innate incandescence about them … as a creation of God. But those who are honestly, wholeheartedly trying to be God’s light to others let that incandescence out into the world where it can do some good. God made us to shine. He gives us the bright light of his Spirit as a gift when we trust him and follow his plan. We don’t have to work to be light on our own, because all we really have to do is let that spiritual light flow through us.
There are also people who are snuffing out God’s light in them … the liars, the cheats, the adulterers, the unkind, the impatient, the selfish, the greedy, the self-centered. I don’t want to be someone who is dull and dark and mean. And I don’t want to be a downer. The cool thing is, just by choosing to do the right thing, taking the good path, we can all shine God’s light no matter what anyone else around us is doing. In fact, we shine brighter if we do right in the midst of others behaving badly. That’s important to remember during a divorce trip.
Even though divorce may cause our light to flicker and even go out temporarily, if we let ourselves be pulled down by the darkness around us, start shining again as soon as you can. Share your discouragements and frustrations (and even your despair and your rage) as you need to with your support group (RADiCAL women, a family member or special friend). But let’s all get back to shining as soon as we can.
