Welcome back, Family!

Thank you for listening to yesterday’s episode. Let’s go deeper.

Annually, I tell you how amazing August has been. I give an uplifting recap of my weekly self-care experiences and inspire you to enjoy your own… and I’ll circle back to that. I assure you the sweet overrode the bitter, but I want to start with a fresh lesson learned.

Earlier this year, I had a revelation that all of my systems needed an overhaul. From the way I packed for work to how I scheduled email responses.

Humans made electronics to communicate when something isn’t working. To let you know repair or replacement is inevitable. God made humans with the same error messages and I saw a dashboard full of them. What I did to accomplish everything so far… what I did to get me here, was not going to get me there. There’s a next chapter unfolding and prior systems were appreciated, yet obsolete. So, I began evaluating big things and the minutiae. I delegated some duties and voiced my needs where necessary. So, I was hoping to slow the train down a bit until an unexpected conflict occurred.

Then that word from January floated to the surface of my spirit again – SHINE. Little-minded-January me thought “Oh… I’m going to learn how to let God shine through me with no limitations. Got it. Check.”

Not quite. That was just half of the revelation. I received the other half this month while I drove home from work.

To make something shine, it has to experience friction. Some sort of cleaning or excavation has to occur to debride the dulling agents from its brilliance. The item has to be discovered, cleaned, buffed, and exposed to light. It doesn’t shine without the work.

People’s eyes don’t usually sparkle at raw, uncut diamonds. To the untrained eye, it’s an ugly rock, but to the expert, it’s pressurized art.

See, it’s easy to say “Keep shining!” to someone who is smiling, but for someone who is in the polishing process… who is experiencing the beating heat of the sun instead of its comforting warmth, that phrase has a whole new meaning. It requires them to wake up and find their smile. To meditate on an uplifting message on their morning commute. To pray on their lunch break. To accept degrading treatment at work. It requires them to commit to the shining process.

The friction.
The buffing.
The cleaning.

They have to discover that they have the capacity to shine and repel the judgement. And once something is shined, it doesn’t stay that way. It must be maintained. Dust, water, and air can cause the item to appear worthless over time. What a blessing it is that we have Someone who always sees our worth… that always sees our shine, even through the magnifying glass of our tears.

That’s what I had to remember this month. My value is never diluted. My worth will never decrease. I can be obscure or highly visible and be exceptional in both arenas. I don’t care what’s happening to me or around me. I don’t relish in who sees me and who doesn’t. I simply shine. I emit the brilliance God created. I have El Elohim’s fingerprints on my skin; there’s no need to let anything less than that Truth seep into my heart.

I’m determined to keep working on that alerting dashboard. There’s a lot more shine left and in the words of renown author Marianne Williamson – “ …And as we let our own light shine, We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Peace & Thanks for listening… and if you’re having a bad day, it just got better.

An audio of this post can be found on my podcast Listening at the Speed of Life.

Love y’all!

CJW