Category: Uncategorized

LIKE DIAMONDS

On the way to pick up my dad to take him several places, I go the back way and drive by a lot of land. There is a beautiful horse ranch with horses framing the beauty of the countryside. I was also noticing the deer tracks and other animals’ tracks interweaving into the snow. The sun made the snow just glimmer, like little diamonds! A dear friend of mine had passed away the day before and my first thought was, ‘Oh, how Lillie would have liked to see all that beauty.’ That night while watching the news, they showed a little boy about 2 or 3 helping his daddy shovel the snow in their driveway. He even had a little shovel. I thought ‘Lillie would have loved that sight.’

My mother and I liked to watch several series on tv and there was one she and I particularly liked. The actual home it was filmed in is a huge mansion in England. I was born in England and I had dreamed that we could go back there to visit the places that I had been to as a child and also go tour the mansion shown on the show, with my mother. She has been gone five years now. I remember the last show of the series, thinking ‘Oh, no, mother is missing the end!’

Isn’t it funny the things that our minds think about after a death of someone we love, in our process of healing amongst the grief? I know exactly where they both had gone after their deaths. They both lived lives, shining their lights for the Lord, every day. They were an example of what a Christian woman should be, for others to follow. They both influenced so many people, including me, to be a better woman of God.

As I am writing this in my car, while waiting for my dad, I mentally called myself a ‘ding-dong.’ Then, I started smiling through the fresh grief of my friend. My friend, in heaven, is seeing such unimaginably shimmering sights that are far more beautiful than the sun glimmering on the snow like diamonds.  I could picture her loving on and playing with all those children who have been murdered through abortion or other tragic ways of death. She was experiencing much more joy, than I am and will ever see!

Then, I thought about my mother in heaven and what she was experiencing. She was seeing the best “show” than we will ever see here on this earth! My mother loved to research about gemstones and loved her diamonds. She did a speech at one of my ladies’ days about gemstones and how they connected to the vision of a heavenly home. There are so many verses in the Bible, that talk about our heavenly home, but I will only show you one.

Revelation 21 shows us a view into heaven, spoken so that our earthly minds can try to understand its grandeur. Some of what is mentioned there are: “…city of pure gold, like clear glass…”   “…the foundations of the walls of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones…” Some of the stones listed here are: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, beryl, topaz, amethyst. The text tells us the gates to this magnificent city, are a huge pearl. “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God illuminated it.” “…there shall be no night there…”  “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

That last verse hits all of us in the year we just put behind us. 2020 will be written in history books as one of the most difficult year worldwide.  Those who died of the pandemic, did not have any family to help them transition into the eternal part of their souls. But God was with them helping them to go thru the door from earthly to heavenly. The first two months of this year of 2021, have not started out as fresh and free from suffering as we had hoped. The people who stormed the capitol that day in January were painful to watch. What about the families of those killed in that horrible riot? I cannot even imagine the fear of the police, security and the people who were hiding in fear of their lives that day. Once we, who have done our best to follow God’s law, are blessed to go thru that door into eternity, we will not feel fear, pain, suffering, darkness and what it might hold, no more loosing those we love to death and all the sorrow and grief that brings us through the rest of our earthly lives.

The sinful-evil-hateful people of this world also are told what will happen to them, if they do not turn towards God and turn away from their sinful ways. There are many verses in the Bible that tell them where they are headed when they leave this earth thru death. One of the passages is in Mark 9:42-48, which gives us a picture of what hell will be like. The verses tell us that if sin tries to wiggle its way into our hearts, that it is better to cut that out of our lives. The verses are Jesus speaking and He uses the symbolism of three parts of our physical body that we should cut off if it is causing us to sin: the hand-foot and eye. They tell us that if we do not repent and get rid of what is causing us to sin, that we will be “…cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched where their worm does not die. And the fire is not quenched.” It also tells us if we cause someone or ourselves to practice sin, it is “…better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.” A millstone is an extremely heavy circular stone, three to four feet across and about a foot thick, used to grind grain into flour, etc. So, in other words, if we had this around our necks, we would definitely sink to the depths of the sea and die.

Which one of the eternal places would you like to go? I know I want to strive to go to a heavenly home. It does not mean I am perfect-that my mother was perfect-or that my friend was perfect. We have all made and will make, bad decisions in our lives in the past, present or future. But the difference in one trying to live their lives for the Lord, is that we have learned, do learn and will learn from those mistakes and make a better life so that we can have joy in an eternal home in heaven!

I have shed many tears in the last few days and the grief is fresh. But as I have found after losing my mother and the fresh grief I experienced then, that the grief never totally goes away, but that grief can be changed into joy, because of the beauty they are seeing and experiencing-the sights and the “shows” that sparkle like diamonds. I will see both of them one day. I have to try to live the best life I can here on this earth, learn from my mistakes-my sin, and try to shine my light for others to see Jesus reflected in that light. I will make the choice when those sad times come, to remember the good times and the fact that I am a much better person because of the light and love they showered over me.

My first book, “Finding the Light in the Darkness,” I dedicated to my husband who has been gone for eleven years. My second book, “God’s Beauty Plan,” I dedicated to my mother. This blog I want to dedicate to my precious friend, Lillie. Thank you for your laughter and fun times we had! Thank you for confiding in me and letting me cry on your shoulder when the hard times came for each of us! Thank you for your example and strength to help me live a better life as a Christian woman! With tears in my eyes, I will miss you on this earth but will rejoice one day when we can see each other once again.

I hope you will give these words some thought. Think about your life and maybe there are some changes you need to make. Keep shining your light, like diamonds in the snow, to help lead others to Christ and the promise we have of eternal life one day when we leave this sinful world.

Thank you, Lillie, my precious friend!

Till next time!                                          Keela

DECISIONS

The world just became a safer place. My oldest grandson graduated from the police academy last night. Our country right now, is not a safe place. But this young man just made a huge decision for the career he wants to follow. He is such a special, caring, respectful person. He will do good in this profession. As a nana, it is a scary thing to think of her grandson out there in the world meeting angry-sinful people. I am sure he will see things that he never thought he would see.  But he will help to make this country better. He made the decision to serve others.

Thinking back on my life, I can think of many decisions I made that were not good. I can also think of decisions I made that were for the good. Have you ever really thought about that? I made the decision when I was just a baby of seventeen to marry my husband. I had no idea of what the future held for my husband and I. Would I have made the same decision, even knowing what was in our future? Yes, I can truthfully say! I am sure some of the decisions I made caused heartache at times but also joy. Besides, simply said, if I had not made that decision to marry, my grandson would not be here to become a police officer.

There are some decisions that turn our lives into a mess. Think about the alcoholic who takes that first drink and then the next and the next. Those choices could lead to losing a job, family, even their lives. What about on that day last month, when the thousands of people took their anger to a volatile decision to try to take siege of the capitol building. Their actions caused rioting, jail time and even death. There are some decisions we cannot come back from. Or can we?

There is a song by Casting Crowns called “Start Right Here.” The song says that we can make a difference if we will make the decision to start right now to make this world a better place by us just being in it and taking action. Some of the words are: “We’re the people who are called by His name. If we’ll surrender all our pride and turn from our ways, He will hear from heaven and forgive our sin……It’s got to start right here It’s got to start now.” We as Christian men and women, need to make a decision, right now, to make the world we live in, a better place for our future generations, by the decisions we make right now! If some of your decisions, make you feel that you can not come back from them or be forgiven, think again. The Bible is full of forgiveness for you!

Do the words of that song make you think of something you have heard before? 2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” In the Old Testament and the New Testament, God tells us that we need to make better decisions. Over and over again, He took care of the Israelites even after they had sinned and once again, turned back to Him. God wants us to make better decisions for our well being physically and spiritually.

My mother’s favorite verses in the Bible are Ephesians 3:20-21. “Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” God can use us to do great things. He works His power in and through us when we make the right decisions. It takes action to be forgiven and our land healed. My mother always used to say when she heard the words, ‘somebody will do it’, that somebody needs to be us. We need to stand up and proclaim the love of God and help others see, by our lights, that the only true decision is turning our lives over to God and following the purpose God has created us.

But you are saying, I have done so many wrong-sinful things that surely God could not ever forgive me. Bad decisions. God sent Jesus to save the sinner. Jesus was seen time and time again with sinful people talking to them and showing His love. God can do amazing things if we just make the decision to become a follower of His. No matter what we are doing or have done, He is always ready to take us into His arms and help us heal. I know now that all those negative decisions-all those positive decisions have led up to me writing two books and this blog. I have a story to tell that can help heal someone else’s hurts by opening up about what I have gone through.

The decisions we make can be for God’s glory or can lead us down a path of darkness. When you have a big or little decision to make, pray that God will help you to make the right one. We need to make decisions based on serving others, not serving ourselves. When we do that, we are making the right decisions!

 I will pray for my grandson every day that the good Lord will look over him and help him to be safe and to make right decisions. Let’s start making the right decisions from today-start right now. God is waiting with open arms. Decisions. What decisions are you making today?

Till next time.                              Keela

(The picture at the first of this blog is my grandson and my son. Thank you, God, for both of them!)

GENERATIONS TO COME

Papa Judge. That is what my only first cousin, Keena and my brother called our grandfather on my mother’s side of the family. What an amazing man and grandfather he was! He and my grandmother lived in another state. Our family would go there twice a year to see them. I remember in the car, as a child, sitting on my mother’s lap, as we turned the corner before we got to their home-store. She would comb my hair and get me ready to see them. What fun my cousin and I had playing together there! Papa Judge and my grandmother owned and lived behind an old country store with a pot belly stove in the corner. I remember old men sitting by that stove and playing dominoes. My cousin, brother and I could get fudgsicles or a pop out of the old fashion freezer and coke machine, at any time. Papa Judge let us get whatever we wanted. I remember, when we would be ready to head back home, that he would fill a big black purse I had, full of candy from his candy counter. My mother told us about a time that Papa Judge had been “babying” a peach tree, looking forward to the time he could pick that luscious fruit. Well, you guessed it! My cousin and I picked every one of those peaches off that tree, way before they were ready to be picked! Oops! Papa Judge never fussed at us or punished us. He just threw them away. I remember him tickling us and playing whatever our little minds came up with. When we played cards, I remember him pulling out a card from his shirtsleeve at exactly the right moment and us grandkids howling with laughter. He was the best grandfather a little girl could ever have!

I know it is a blessing to be able to have those memories and so many more. There are so many who never even knew their grandparents or have grandparents who they were lucky to not be around. I was blessed to get to know all of my grandparents. They were all amazing. My grandmother taught me how to sew. She helped me sew several tops when I was pregnant with my first son. I was blessed to live close by my other set of grandparents. Thank you, God, that they were all such amazing faithful believers in God!! I feel my family have given me the example of love for God and the Christian examples to follow. So, you are thinking, if I did not have grandparents who followed God, there is no hope for me. Absolutely not! Not saying that at all. We make our own decisions and follow our own paths. Knowing God and following His commandments does not depend on our family, whether they were believers or not. It depends totally, 100%, on our choices and the direction we want to be headed eternally. I have said before, that when we stand before our Lord, we cannot depend on our grandparents, our parents, our spouse or anyone who has been faithful who touched our lives, to get us a free ride into heaven. 

In our Wednesday night Bible class at church, we have started a study in Judges. We are only in the fourth chapter and the Bible says several times, “The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord.” I would say most of you have heard of Joshua from the Bible. He is the faithful, great leader of the Israelites who said in Joshua 24:15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served that were on the other side of the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We see time and time again after a great leader of God, that a generation or even their own children, followed their own path and did not serve the Lord. In Judges 2:10, after Joshua died, the Bible reads, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, (died) another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord and the work which He had done for Israel.”

Wow! How can that even happen? How can a person live their lives for God in all they do, and then their children-their grandchildren-their great grandchildren do not follow their example of faithfulness to the Lord? Do you have that in your family already? I am sure that will happen in the future generations I will not even know. Is it hopeless? Not at all. In the Old Testament, time and time again, we see the Israelite leaders who were great followers of God, their children fell away from God and we see that their future generations did the same. But then, once again, we see a great leader appear who follows and serves God.

We see, in the news, the people who have been arrested for the assault on the capital and the police, how destructive and the hate that they are showing because of their actions. As a mother and grandmother, I have thought, I wonder what their mother and grandmother are saying right now about their actions? Can their parent or grandparent say they are proud to call them a family member? Do you think they are telling others that destructive, lawless person is related to them? What about generations to come, what will they think? Will they see God in the actions that were done on that day? We see from the past and from the present, that there are people who follow God all their lives and then a generation after them, turns away from God. The good turning to bad, has always been. Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 says “That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘see this is new’? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.”

So, what hope is there if any? Of course, there is as long as there is breath in our lungs! How can we as followers of God help those family members or those who will come in the future, to follow your example of living with God and having God in your heart? The Bible tells us that falling away from God and then those who live for God, has always been in history.

You are waiting for me to give you some magical answers. But I cannot. All I can say is as long as there is breath in your lungs, continue to be a good example. Continue to have hope in your heart for their souls. Continue to serve through your actions, of what a follower of God should be. Continue to pray for them and future generations. Be transparent with your failures and your sinfulness. No one is perfect or without sin in their lives. And what I have had to realize, is that especially, when they become an adult, they make their own choices and follow their own path, no matter what type of example you are or have been for them. It is all in our own hearts that leads us to service for the Lord. Can a parent or grandparent be the one who leads your family to God? Of course, but it is the individual’s decision whether to continue in that faithfulness.

So, what does this have to do with my Papa Judge? It has everything to do with my Papa Judge and other family members, who have been a good example of faithfulness to me. But it also has everything to do with whether I follow their example or not. I make my own choices. God has given us that right-that privilege. Just like, this country has given us the freedom to follow what is right or, as the horror at the capitol building showed, to take advantage of that freedom and what it truly means.

All I can do is to serve and follow God to the best of my ability. Will I make wrong choices that could affect future generations? Yes, but the final answer is everyone chooses their own path. All I can do is to serve and follow God to the best of my ability until the last breath leaves my body.

I know that I was blessed to have previous generations who followed God and taught me by their examples what living a Christian life is like. There are so many who have overcome the challenge of not having those examples and they became amazing leaders of God.

I was blessed several years ago, to go to that shell of a store that I have so many fond memories. I could visualize that old stove in the corner of the store and the men who sat there playing dominos. Both my grandparents are buried in the little cemetery at that corner that so many years ago, I remember my mother combing my hair as I sat on her lap. The trees at that corner do not seem as big as I remember when I was a child. That generation has left this earth and are now in the arms of our Lord. I pray that sometime through the generations to come in my family, that they will have heard about me and I can still reach through time and help them in, some way to know their God. The picture at the first of this blog, is my papa judge and me. I was upset about something and he is trying to make it better. Many years have gone by since this picture was taken but when I look at it now, I can feel the love reaching through the years. I try to keep him alive through telling my grandchildren about him. When I look in my oldest sons’ eyes, I see the reflection of the powder blue eyes my grandfather had.

Papa Judge, thank you for being that amazing grandfather and example of a godly man for me and generations to come. I hope I can also be that type of influence to generations to come.

Till next time!                                       Keela

REALITY

I have been in a “bubble” of my own making. I had 3 and half days off of work, starting the new year of 2021. That does not happen very often when I can stay home. I literally did not do anything. I watched Hallmark movies-read a book that I had started and never finished-went to bed late & got up late-started a study of Nehemiah that I had been wanting to do-played with my son’s dog-took naps. I was certainly being lazy in my little “bubble.” Have you ever had any times like that? When you can shut out the world and do those things that you love so much. Reality finally hit and I had to go back to work and come out of “hiding”.

Today, when I am starting to write this blog, I had so much to do on my one day off. Laundry, phone calls and vacuuming. All the things a person, who works, has to catch up on. I decided to take a break and sat down to watch tv. What I saw was violence-destruction-a riot-fear.  I wondered what country this was from. But wait, it was MY countries capital building! What in the world! I started to cry and my heart started to race. How in the world could this be happening in my great country? This was happening to us as Americans who have so many freedoms and that was built, so long ago, on the foundation of God. Whether I agree or not, voted for the president or not, this was wrong! Acts of violence like I was seeing, was sinful!

We, as Americans, have become too spoiled to our freedoms. Some have become violent and take our freedoms for granted. There are select groups and people, who love to insight this type of violence. They build up the emotions of people and prey on their peaceful demonstrations.

We, as Christians, need to get on our knees and pray for our country and the new president who is coming into office. We need to pray that those who are in sighting this type of violence, making us feel fearful, will be brought to justice.

What a way to start our new year of 2021. Everyone started the new year so hopeful that these new vaccines will help us contain this terrible silent enemy. The pandemic of 2020 has brought us all to our knees and made us fear the very essential act of breathing. But then, this happens.

Whew! Well, I got that out of my system! Those of you who know me, realize that I always try to see the glass half full instead of empty. Always trying to see the good in a bad situation. As I sat on my couch and watched all of this violence enfold, it was very hard to see anything good, or see anything I could do to not feel so fearful.  Or is there?

Let’s look at a couple of things that we can do to see a glimmer of light and hope in the middle of the chaos.

1. PRAY: I was talking to my dad that night. I could hear in his voice, that the scenes that were happening and were being shown on the tv, were upsetting him, like they had me. I told him to turn off the news and go back to the westerns he loved. That is what I had done as well (not to watch westerns) but to get away from those images that were upsetting me. Yes, we need to stay informed, but when our hearts feel so heavy and hopeless, we need to get away from those visuals. We need to get on our knees, pray for our country and these people who have done wrong. Isaiah 41:10-13 reads “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you, shall be ashamed and disgraced. They shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them. Those who contended with you, those who war against you, shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.” God isalways just one prayer-one thought away, to help us to not be fearful. We can always reach out to Him through prayer. God is our safe place.
2. DO SOMETHING ELSE:  Play a game with your kids. Listen to their squeals of delight in their innocent voices. Throw the ball for your dog. Take a walk. Take a deep breath. Focus on your breathing and calm that fear. Open your Bible. Go to your favorite verses and let them calm your soul and help you remember, that no matter what is going on around you, that God is helping you and walking by your side. Acts 17:11 “…they received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily finding out whether these things were so.” When you have God’s word in your heart, those verses will automatically come to mind when the tough times come and will bring peace to your troubled heart.
3. TALK TO A TRUSTED FRIEND: Let us as brothers and sisters in Christ, band together and help each other through this hard time. I sure have turned to friends through the years. When I have something troubling my heart, saying it out loud to a friend, helps me to see things in a different light. It helps to take that burdened heart free from the chains I have wrapped around myself, setting me free from the weight that is trying to push me down. I have always told people, that if they do not share their heart with me, how do I know how to pray? Proverbs 18:24 reads “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer that a brother.”  Friends are truly a gift from God!
4. PRAY A SPECIFIC PRAYER: Center a prayer on one thing throughout yourday.Our law enforcement came out in huge numbers during this assault. Their lives were put on the line while trying to keep peace and order. My oldest, grandson, is in the police academy and will graduate within the next month. The year of 2020, showed us scenes of some police officers not doing the right things. Using their authority to hurt others. During that time, there were riots, looting and burning causing much pain and endurance of our police. Once again, some fueled those who were having peaceful demonstrations, to do some unthinkable things to innocent people who had already been hurt by the pandemic. Please lift up my grandson and other police, that they will have the courage to keep the peace through the tools that they have been trained to do. Also, pray for this silent virus, that has claimed so many lives. Pray that these vaccines will help defeat it. I have a granddaughter who is in the medical field and is working at a hospital where she has to treat COVID-19 patients. Pray for her and the other health care workers-other essential workers-that God will be with them and help them to have physical and mental strength to make it through each day.
5. THIS IS NOT MY HOME: The reality of our world we live in, the country we live in, is that the devil is working really hard to pull us away from God. The devil is laughing in the realization that he has caused chaos. Yes, we have a home here on this earth, but it is not our final home. If we are blessed to live many years, (like my grandmother who was a month away from being 100 years old) those years are nothing to compare to the eternity that we will live with God, if we have been faithful. We will not have the pain of what this world brings us. Revelations 21:4, reads “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” That is our home! Eternal life! Forever with God. When we live through the burdens of our life, we must hold onto the promises that only our God can give. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us about these promises. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God keeps His promises.We cannot say that about everyone on this earth. The final hope is that this earth is not our forever home. Heaven with our God is our final home.

Thanks for reading this blog. The actions of some during this last week has helped me to remember that this earth is not our home forever. Put everything aside and pray right now for healing for our country-for our earthly home right now and thank God for His promises!

The reality of the situation we all observed at the capitol is, all of that is a part of this world. Remember the reality of the hope we have in God’s promises if we obey and trust in Him, we will be able to make it through another day on our journey to a better home-heaven. I want to leave you with a verse we can hold on to.

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart, and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God, is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.”

Till next time!                                  Keela

THE LIGHT OF THE BODY

As the plane sliced through the clouds getting higher and higher, I realized that I was getting farther and farther away from my daughter and grandbabies. I was blessed to be able to go to my daughters for Thanksgiving in Norfolk, Va. I had ten beautiful days with them. Even though we could not go places or eat out like we usually do, we played games, did stickers, played store and barbies. What an amazing trip! I had not seen them for a year, because of covid and now, it was once again time for me to fly back to the reality of life without them close. There is something I will never forget when they dropped me off at the airport to come home. As I hugged each one of them and held my daughter close, I will never forget my nine-year-old grandson’s eyes. He reminds me so much of my husband who has been gone from this earth for eleven years. He has curly hair; acts like he never knew a stranger and has those big brown eyes. After I hugged him, I looked at him and his beautiful brown eyes were a huge pool of tears. He realized that the day had finally come that I had to leave. In his eyes, I have always seen the look of when he is kidding you and when he is being serious. There is so much expression in just looking into those eyes!

With the coronavirus, even more prevalent in our lives, we are realizing that one of the important things to do in order to be safe from the virus, is to wear our mask everywhere we go. At work, I wear my mask all day, except when I eat or drink. Some think this in infringing on their rights as an American. But they still stop at the stop lights and obey the laws that have been in force. There are just some things a person must do in order to stay safe and in order to keep others safe. With us wearing masks, we can only see each other’s eyes. We can learn so much from a person’s eyes. I have realized that looking into people’s eyes we can tell if they are sad, happy, serious or just thinking. Those eyes tell us what a person is thinking or feeling inside their hearts. The eyes are the light of the body.

Matthew 6:22-23 reads “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light, But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.” Those who are blind, only see darkness. They cannot see all the sparkling lights of this time of year. They cannot look at the beauty of the ocean or a baby’s smile. They always live-in darkness. But these verses are not talking about the physical darkness, but the spiritual darkness. When a person does not follow God’s light but would rather follow the darkness that sin can cause, they are walking in darkness every day. I would rather walk in the light, wouldn’t you?  In the darkness, I would rather have a flashlight so I could see where I am going so, I do not fall. Psalm 119:105 reads “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” This verse tells us if we are to walk in the light, that we need to study and put into practice the study of the word of God, the Bible. The Bible tells us how to maneuver thru this life. How to stay in the light of God and be a light for God. It tells us what path to follow in order to not fall into the snares of the devil, who is full of darkness. 1 John 1:5a thru 7 reads, “…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The word “walk” means that some kind of action is being done. Our lives are to reflect the light that is given us through Jesus. We are to be a light unto this dark world. Our light must be so bright by our everyday activities, that others see that light and are drawn to us because they see only the light and not the darkness that they have been surrounded by. Those who are in darkness, want to know and understand, thru us, how they can live in that light also. With God in our hearts, He will light our path and our everyday activities become clear. If our God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that He is mighty enough to light our path?

Won’t you be glad when the new year comes, when we can leave this year of 2020 when so many have been thrown into the darkness. A report I was reading said that 40% of Americans, in the month of September were depressed. That is almost half of the people in this great nation of freedom that we live in. Maybe you are one of them. The elderly are having a huge struggle. They have been confined to their homes for almost nine months! I have been so proud of my dad. He has found things to do while being confined. He does puzzles, watches westerns and keeps his mind busy. It is hard when you have been used to getting out and going places and being with people and then have to stare at four walls every day. I have not hugged my dad in all those months. That is so sad. My family are huggers. That is one way that we show our love for each other. I miss the fact that when with my church family, we cannot hug. But yet when I look into their eyes, I can see the love and appreciation for each other.

Just like those pools of tears in my grandsons’ eyes, we can tell a lot about a person when looking into their eyes. There are so many emotions in those lights of the body! Try looking into people’s eyes and see what they say. Are they showing God’s light or are they showing darkness because of a life of sin?

When Jesus died on the cross, He gave each one of us the responsibility of continuing His life of light. Did you realize that a candle, when lighting another candle, does not give up any of its own light? Have you ever been to a candle light ceremony? One candle lights another and then that candle, lights another. Before too long, the whole area is full of light! Where there was darkness, now there is light! Show this world that there is a better way to live their lives, by lighting the path of others. Is there something you can do to light up someone else’s day of loneliness because of this pandemic?

This has been a dark year but it also has been one of much light. Just look around you. My daughter’s husband who is in the Navy, was deployed here right at Thanksgiving and Christmastime. Their children are four of my eight grandkids and one great. They are all under the age of 11.  My daughter can see darkness because he will possibly be gone until next June! But she is strong and has the light of Jesus shining within her giving her courage to face the next few months with strength and courage. She was at the store the other day buying necessities and her bill was about $50 dollars. The person behind her paid for all of it! Someone showing their light in this darkness. Can you do something like that for another and shine your light?

I will never forget those precious brown eyes looking at me with pools of tears. Those sweet eyes have several months to go till his daddy comes home. But time goes by so quickly, one day will go into a month after month until the time he comes home.

Look around you and you can see, even in this year of darkness, light shining forth from people’s eyes and their actions. If you feel darkness, starting to engulf you, reach out to others. Let them use their lights to shine your path forward. By your actions be a light to others. Shine forth from your eyes the light of God. Let your eyes be the light of the body! The eyes. Had you ever thought of them being a light of the body? Think about it next time you talk to someone and look into their eyes and see if they need your help to guide them back into the light. The true light of Jesus!

I will write my next blog at the first of next year. May you have peace and find the light amidst this time of year! Be a light! God has allowed this year to be a reality. Maybe He has been teaching us something. What have you learned from this year? This holiday season will be different for most of us, but find the joy and light in each moment. The light comes from our Savior. Let that light shine brightly for others to see. What do others see when they look into your eyes? May God bless and keep you safe!

Till next time!                     Keela

(My daughter took the picture at the top of this blog. It is when I got to the airport and I could finally hold my grandbabies for the first time in such a long time. Priceless!)