A few months ago, I met a mom that was going thru the program where I do ministry to women in addiction recovery. She was candidly opening up to our group about how her past relationship made it even more difficult to kick her drug addiction. In this relationship, she was often beaten, leaving her face covered in dark black and blue bruises. She described how hard it was to even look at herself in the mirror. There was only so much that makeup could do. The bruises were too dark. The darkness of her face matched the darkness of her shame. The shame she felt for the current situation she had found herself in, and for the life she was living with her children. Shame that was not placed on her by her Creator, but by the enemy.  Like so many of us, she was broken.

So often we can feel blanketed in darkness- whether it is being physically abused, trapped in addiction, shackled with depression, battling an eating disorder, the dissolving of a marriage, a devastating diagnosis. Life can get dark. Pitch black. The kind of darkness where you can’t even make out your hand right in front of your face. It can feel hopeless. Not even worth pushing on. When you have no light, the tunnel of life can seem too long, uncertain and scary to walk through.

 BUT, there can be LIGHT at the end of the tunnel, even in the middle of the tunnel. The amazing thing about walking thru this life with the Lord is that even when darkness creeps in, we are walking around with the Light of the World held in our heart. When you call Jesus your Savior, you are forever living with that hope, that LIGHT. He is the only one that can shine true Light into the darkness. He can turn someone that is hopeless, into someone that is hopeful. He can take someone who has been chained to addiction and restore them to freedom. The force of darkness that is shame, addiction, guilt, brokenness, and disease is too powerful to overcome on our own.  Darkness can only be defeated by the powerful Light that is Christ within us.

While going through the recovery process this mom began to renew her relationship with the Lord. She leaned into God’s love for her and asked Him to help her change her life once and for all. She began to heal and recover and find her worth in who Christ says she is and not let her past define her future. As the month’s past, she not only allowed God to heal her and find her strength thru the Holy Spirit but she began to encourage and lead other mothers in the house to seek the Lord, lean into his healing power and find hope for their futures in who God says they are.

Last week, I sat in the circle listening to the other women in the house describe this once bruised and battered mom. The mom that once associated her face with the darkness of shame.

Do you know how they described her? They called her A LIGHT. They said seeing her face and hearing her encourage them in the Lord was like a LIGHT in that house. That’s the amazing thing about Jesus. His light not only can restore you but then He allows His light to shine through you and light the way for others. Only our Mighty God, that redeems and restores anyone who seeks Him, could take a once beaten and bruised woman and turn her into a walking light, testifying to the healing power of Jesus Christ.

We are all given a choice. We can walk through the tunnel of life alone, in the dark, attempting to stumble through and maybe make it to the other side unscathed. OR, we can choose to bring LIGHT. A light that is far more powerful than any force that may try to snuff it out. A LIGHT that will always be there to guide the path in front of you. Giving you peace, even in the darkest of places.

And who knows, maybe your light is going to shine through and light the way for someone else in that dark tunnel. I know for that mom, the once dark face that is now glowing with hope for her future, will continue to shine her light and tell the story of how Jesus, the Light of the World, can overcome ANY darkness. So next time you hear the song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,” think of her and get your hopes up. I know I will.

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5