Yellow lights

If you saw my stories on Sunday, you saw that I went to church for the first time in months and really, truly, enjoyed it. I went to North Point Church - Springfield Campus and, once again, Pastor Jeremy knocked it out of the park. He has a way of putting passages into phrases that have actual meaning...at least for me. I can read a passage or verse of the Bible five times and still have no idea what it's supposed to mean. Jeremy puts meaning behind it.

The service on Sunday was about the yellow lights that appear in our lives. And for a lot of us, when yellow lights appear, we tend to speed up; we try to avoid them. When in reality, yellow lights are meant to slow us down. They're meant to make us take a breather; relax for a moment. Christmas is a yellow light.

Christmas is about interruptions. Interruptions that may not always be welcomed when actually living them. But that's the beauty of Christmas, isn't it? God has created this holiday that comes around EVERY year so that we are interrupted from the "busy bee" that is our daily life...to be reminded of why we're even here to begin with. To be interrupted. To pause for a moment and remember the importance of our purpose.

Yellow lights occur in all shapes and forms. Pastor Jeremy brought a very meaningful quote into his service on Sunday by a poet by the name of Langston Hughes. It read, "I am so tired of waiting, aren't you, for the world to become good and beautiful and kind?". Don't we all feel this on a weekly, if not daily, basis? Aren't we all waiting to see the good in people? We're just sitting here, crossing our fingers, hoping that some day all hate will somehow evaporate into thin air. Well, as Pastor Jeremy said, "When you are stuck waiting, remember God is still working". He is ALWAYS working. He is there in your loss, whatever that may be, even though it may not ease the pain.

Christmas is our opportunity to be a light within all the darkness. It's our opportunity to bring good news to others. It's our opportunity to lend a helping and healing hand. Every year the holidays come around and they give us another opportunity to remember the true meaning behind Christmas. Regardless of what you believe in regards to the coming of Jesus, this time of year is our opportunity to do good. "Christmas is God's answer to any suffering you face". Let's make sure we do our part to carry out His mission.

Be the light in the darkness.

We all took a "Christmas Commitment" on Sunday. Our commitment was this: "when I'm wading through a challenge, and waiting on hope, I'll be watching for Jesus". As I'm working through this next phase in my life...professionally, personally, spiritually...I'll be watching for the spirit to take shape in my life. I pray...well, I like to say "shoot up some positive thoughts"... every morning that God/the universe/the spirit will guide me in the direction I'm supposed to take in order to fulfill my purpose. As long as I know that He is guiding me in the right direction, then all I have to do is trust in that. Trust in the guidance and know that I'm working to live a life of fulfillment and God is right there with me.

I'll say it just one more time...

Be the light in the darkness.

A place to be #unapologeticallyme.