Dear Glitter,
You are so sparkly! How do you shine all the time? I have my shining moments, for sure, but some days I just feel not so sparkly. Things look dark around me. Even in me. And if I’m honest, sometimes I prefer the darkness.
I can hide there. People can’t see the real me. I don’t have to stare at my problems. But you, obviously, love shining. All the time. How do you do that?
And you’re everywhere! I saw you in a girl’s hair at dance class, and on the eyelids of a few ladies at the mall. Mostly you hang out on Christmas ornaments and wreaths. Maybe on some wrapping paper or gift bags, making what’s inside just a bit more special.
But, Glitter, can you take a break from greeting cards, please? I mean, seriously, I wanna read the card but you get on my fingers and then my shirt and pants and desk and all over my car seat and I can’t get you off. You just stick to things. So loyally, so faithfully, sharing your brightness.
How can I do that? How can I be more like you, Glitter? Can I really shine more by coming into the light, out of the darkness? Aren’t you afraid of being exposed? Then again, God made you, Glitter, and he made me, too. He made us both to shine, not to hide, not to bury our God-given identity in a cave or closet.
And how can I stick around like glue without being flicked away so easily by my feelings or lies that I believe? I want to be faithful, loyal, hang in there when it’s tough, not give up, just like you. Not only shiny, but sticky!
Glitter, I see you. Lots of you. That’s how you work best, when it’s a bunch of you together. You are a lesson in the importance of relationships in my life, and the priority of hanging out with the right people. People who are like you. Joyfully confident. Clear in their purpose. Always eager to shine.
Okay, you can stick around for a while after Christmas. I know I’ll see you, and when I do, I’ll praise God like you do. I’ll remember what you want to teach me. And we will both make the world brighter.
But please stay off the big rug in the living room unless you plan to stay until next Christmas.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5)
PRAYER: God, make me more like glitter. Shining in my faith. Sticking to my promises and always loyal to people I care about. Making the world a brighter place. Serving my purpose with others of joyful faith eager to sparkle. Amen.
DIG DEEPER: Read John 1:1-5, and it will put the verse above into the context of Christmas and Jesus.