Wait. What? Glow in the dark silly putty for a dollar?  Okie dokie! I tossed five packages of putty in my cart and continued towards the checkout.

The silly putty was an impulse buy during one of my half dozen trips to the grocery store that week. The multiple shopping sprees were a byproduct of having a week-long celebration with family and friends.  But, back to the silly putty.  I got suckered in on that purchase because it was raining cats and dogs at the time and my grands were temporarily relegated to the inside of my house creating what I call lovely chaos. I thought perhaps the silly putty would keep the littles busy. And it did. For at least five whole minutes.

That’s about how long it took me to get their prizes out of the packages and escort the littles into the secret playhouse (aka walk-in closet) I had made for them in the double bedroom. And that would be the scene of the big fail. Five green gobs of putty; no glow.

By the time I had read the fine detail on the packaging and discovered our putty needed to be exposed to a bright light in order to function as it was designed, the wee ones– who have the collective attention span of a gnat hyped up on caffeine– had lost interest. It was just me and the failed goo, and the inkling of something I knew I’d want to share with y’all.

So, here it is. It’s easy to look at the world around us and think that it is growing darker all the time, especially if we feed on twenty-four hour news coverage, but I refuse to wring my hands and pine for what was. I’m a realist, but I’m also a blood bought optimist who longs to fulfill my purpose for living on this planet in this important hour, to apprehend that for which I’ve been apprehended by Christ. As believers, we’re all meant to shine like beacons of light in our ever-darkening world, but the reality is that none of us will shine without living exposed and vulnerable to the Light!

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12

Simply calling ourselves by the Name of Christ won’t make us shine. Walking and living in relationship with Him, will do it every time. We can be light for our grands, and those we love, or we can be silly putty. Let’s choose well.