Do you ever feel you can’t let your light shine? Nick Vijicic felt that way and he probably has a reason to. Nick was born with amelia- absence of arms and legs. He wondered what he could possibly accomplish without limbs.
updated September 28, 2023
Do you ever feel you can’t let your light shine? Maybe you think you don’t have any light to shine? I have, even as I write this blog or when I was taking care of patients.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Nothing will bring you down faster than living without purpose or losing track of whatever you are most passionate about, the gift that gives you joy and makes your life meaningful.
Finding purpose took Nick from being a depressed suicidal teenager to a man who “travels the world on God’s business” and has a “ridiculously good life” with his wife and children. He tells this story in his book
When our focus becomes self centered instead of God centered, we lose our greatest source of power. Our God given talents are meant to benefit others.
I agree with Nick. I became a doctor and write this blog to use my skills and knowledge to help you. Now that I am retired from practice, I’m learning the skills to do life coaching for the same reason. When I forget my purpose, these quickly become burdens instead of sources of joy and excitement.
Ask yourself these questions.
What in life matters to me?
What brings me joy?
What drives me and gives my life meaning?
exploring the HEART of health
I recommend Nick’s books where he tells the story of his remarkable life and more about what motivates and inspires him.
I’ve included some affiliate links to them, for your convenience and to help me fund this blog.
Thanks for joining me to meet Nick and explore his incredible journey. Please follow me here and on social media to explore and share the HEART of health.
The author recounts an experience of losing power for five days due to an ice storm that caused widespread power outages in the city. With no electricity, they discovered the critical role that light plays in daily life and how its absence affected various activities. The experience underscored the importance of light, its shared nature and its inviolable value, mirroring the biblical teaching of letting one’s light shine before others.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
(This post uses affiliate links for support by a commission if you purchase through them.)
The day my lights went out
On a cold December morning, I awoke to no electric power in my house; so I had no heat, no coffee, no hot breakfast, and no television or internet access that day. And neither did thousands of other people in my city.
During the previous night as rain fell, it quickly turned to ice so thick that it brought down exposed power lines. It also took down tree limbs which in turn knocked down more power lines. By dawn, a city of a half million people was largely without power, including my home and the clinic where I practiced.
Upon arising, we started navigating the challenge of life without electricity. We were cold, and could not cook, wash clothes, watch TV, use our computer, or recharge our cell phones.
So, after opening our automatic garage door manually, we drove around looking for an open restaurant, finding traffic signals not working, and many businesses closed. I didn’t go to my clinic since it didn’t have power either.
Somehow we made it through the day; it was something of an adventure at that point. But at sunset, we faced an evening and night in the dark.
My house had no power for 5 days, some people as long as 2 weeks. By the third day, my clinic reopened so I had access to a computer, could charge my phone, and had a warm place to spend the day.
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As inconvenient as all the other things were, the thing I missed most was light.
I felt grateful to have candles and flashlights, but they weren’t the same as being able to flip a switch on the wall or turn the switch on a lamp and have bright light flood the room.
By living in the dark for 5 days I learned…
I should not take light for granted.
Natural sunlight lasts from 8 to 14 hours per day, depending on the season and where you live- unless you live at the north or south pole, where you may be in darkness for 24 hours part of the year. Once the sun sets, you are in darkness unless you create light in some way.
Light is a great equalizer.
It didn’t matter who you were or what part of town you lived in. Rich and poor and everyone in between experienced the power outage. Some people had generators or were lucky enough to find a store with one for sale. Otherwise, you were in the dark.
Life without light is difficult.
Sitting in the living room listening to our battery-powered TV (now a relic) by candlelight, wrapped up in blankets wasn’t too bad. I just had to remember to take a flashlight to go to the bathroom or into my closet to change clothes. With no power or windows to catch a little moonlight, these areas of my home were pitch black.
We couldn’t cook, and could not safely store perishable food- I had to throw away everything in the refrigerator and freezer by the third day. We quickly tired of peanut butter and crackers. Dirty clothes stayed dirty for the time being.
Power company crews worked around the clock, helped by crews from other cities and states. It still took 2 weeks to get power back to everyone. It took even longer to get all the broken tree limbs picked up from streets and yards and hauled off to a central site for burning. Subsequently, the city undertook a plan to trim trees that posed a hazard to power lines and to bury power lines.
Light should be shared with others.
Residents and businesses who had power invited others in, providing places to eat, wash clothes, charge phones, and stay warm. We were all in this together, and everyone seemed to make an extra effort to be kind to each other.
We enjoyed a view of the lights of New York City from the Empire State Building
The Sermon on the Mount
The scripture I quoted above is from Matthew in the New Testament. It’s part of a passage usually called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus taught these lessons on a mountain to the people who were following him. So it may not have been exactly what we now consider a sermon. Luke also records Jesus teaching many of the same lessons but at different times. His words taught how people should relate to God and to each other. Here is another post I wrote about Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.
Also well known and often quoted is a daily devotional book, “My Utmost for His Highest”, by Oswald Chambers. Some call it the most beloved devotional book of all time.
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