This Little Light

Today, we’re listening to an old, yet classic hymnal: This Little Light of Mine

I woke up today feeling refreshed after a long week of work. I’ve been at my new job for about three weeks now and every day I feel grateful to be there. However, the tiredness I feel from teaching daily wears on me every single week, especially the first two weeks. During that time, every Friday after work, I would travel about 75 miles home because I had no permanent place to stay.

But today is different.

Today, I am waking up on my air mattress in my new home. My first apartment. And no, this is not your typical “luxury apartment” type of scene that you would see on TikTok or YouTube. I have no furniture, just a few things I’ve brought with me from my home. I have been here for about a week now, but this is the first Saturday I’ve awakened at my new address. It’s so quiet. It’s so peaceful. It’s so still. It’s a necessary stillness that I feel here.

This morning, I got up, opened my blinds, fixed my coffee, made my bed, played some music, prayed — typical things you can do anywhere. It felt like I had been here forever. Then the sun started to peek in through the blinds. I saw the shadow of them on my wall…. And THAT is when the waterworks started to fall.

I’ve thanked God every day for this apartment. I’ve been so happy here since I moved in. Every step on the stairwell it takes to get to my place is worth it. But today was the first time I’ve seen the sun peek in through the windows. It’s something so simple but it caused all of these tears to just fall because that is what I have always wanted. That little light to shine through my balcony window was and is the perfect reminder that He is right here with me. He has blessed and approved this place. He has blessed my move to this new city. He has blessed my job. He has blessed me.

As I have stated before in a previous blog, this year has been really hard for me. I remember there being a time when I couldn’t even see or feel the sun because of my journey at the time. Everything was so dark. So now, for me to be able to see it in my place and feel it on my skin… the blessing is just overwhelming.

When I called my mother and father and talked to them about this as it was happening, they could see the same sun. There is only one. The same sun that I see here, my parents could see 75 miles away. It’s the same one that my brother can see two states away. It’s the same one that people up north in New York can see a time zone away. It’s the same sun that is shining all over this country and soon all over this world.

As I spoke to my mother, all I could think of was the song, “This Little Light of Mine.” This classic children’s hymnal is a perfect ode to what I am feeling right now and how I have been living over the last three weeks.

“Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.

Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.

Everywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine.

Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine.”

If you have sung this song, especially in a children’s choir directed by a REAL choir director, you know that there’s a new feeling and urgency you feel every time you repeat the same line. Yes, the song is repetitive, but the feeling you get while singing it changes. It’s a feeling of love, it’s a feeling of bravery, it’s a feeling of true understanding. It’s the same feeling I feel while singing it now, except this time I have a story that follows it.

When I was younger, I truly thought that the light was physical. A flashlight or candle, perhaps. But now that I’m older and I know better, the light could be many things. It could be peace, it could be your gift, it could be your personality, or it still could be that physical light like it was for me this morning. So in thinking about everything that I’ve been through, not just over the past few weeks, but over the past few months, all I can encourage you to do today is to live the lyrics of this classic song. Let the light in and let your light shine. You deserve it and the world deserves to see it.

And if you don’t believe me, ask the Bible sis.. it says it right there:

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” — Matthew 5:16

So today, ask yourself this… “How can I let my light shine? How can I encourage others to do the same?”

This post is my way of answering my own question. What will be yours?

Originally Posted to: https://sedecramarcedes.com/2021/11/07/this-little-light/