Staying healthy anytime includes keeping positive, even during difficult days. Focusing on the positive has rewards that will manifest in your body and the influence you have on others. In the last week, two people I love were diagnosed with cancer. Each received this information just a few days before Christmas. My initial reaction was, “Wow, What a rough way to spend the holidays! Couldn’t the news have come at a better time?”  As I’ve contemplated their circumstances I’ve had a change of heart. If the news was headed their way, this is absolutely the BEST time they could have gotten bad news!

With less than seven days ‘til Christmas, every store, radio station and front yard is announcing the good news that “Unto us a child is born…”

Mary and Joseph, unable to find a comfortable place to stay were forced to spend the night in a barn. The animals became smelly space heaters and the food trough a crib for their newborn. Rather than a well-lit and sterile environment like the delivery rooms where I gave birth to our children, Jesus entered our world via a dark and dirty environment. Absolutely the BEST place for the Light of the World to show up. That dark and dank barn was a perfect canvas for His light.  The black of night made the star easy to follow and because He was the only newborn in the barn, it wasn’t hard for the shepherds to locate the baby who was the “Light of the World. “

If this holiday season includes loss or sadness for you, look at the darkness with a new set of eyes.

• Look around. Every decoration, tree and bit of tinsel is celebrating the birth of Jesus, Light of the World.

• His light contrasts your darkness and that a GOOD thing. It makes  Him easy to find.
• He is the Word of God and therefore, “A lamp unto my feet.” He will illuminate your path and lead you to peace in your circumstances.
• When you surrender your darkness to God, He will equip you to share His light with others who need it.

Life’s speed bumps and collisions form who we are. We can be left with tire tracks on our back, run over by life or let God leave a distinct Fingerprint on our heart. Yielding prepares us to love and empathize with others.