In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1 – 5 (NIV)
My husband, parents, and I gazed upon the colorful display of lights in one of the primary parks in Casper, Wyo., two weeks before Christmas. Purple, blue, red, green, white – a rainbow cascading from trees amid the inky blackness. The kaleidoscope lit up the darkness, and we gazed in awe. We were further amazed by light displays in neighborhoods as we traveled across town.
Looking at Christmas lights had been a family tradition when I was a child, and I carried that into my adulthood. However, I had not been able to share the experience with my parents in many years. My heart lifted as I once again indulged in Christmas light-viewing with the people who raised me.
The journey to that recent evening took a rocky, unsteady path. My mother’s health began faltering in the late spring, and two trips to the emergency room and one medical life-flight helicopter ride later, an assessment of a failing gallbladder and flaming infection from an internal blockage steered us in the right direction for treatment. We made plans three times for additional surgery to remove her gallbladder, however, due to cardiac issues, that annoying gallbladder remained three months later. With her health declining and my father’s health also deteriorating, we moved them to Wyoming, closer to me and my husband. My mother’s heart improved thanks to medication, and in November, after yet another surgery, her body was freed of the gallbladder … plus a mass the surgeon discovered on her liver.
This wasn’t the only challenge I faced this year.
New health issues for me began cropping up mid-January, and though some problems subsided mid-autumn, others remain.
My husband and I lost three of our four pets this year.
My mother-in-law, who recently turned 95, has been in and out of the hospital several times this year, and doctors recently diagnosed her with congestive heart failure.
The struggles and the darkness seemed endless.
Now a new year looms on the horizon.
I don’t know about you, but I am happy to say goodbye to 2023!
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Similarly, this year has not been pleasant in many ways for pregnancy help organizations.
In addition to the numerous physical assaults on pro-life individuals and groups that began in 2022, abortion activists continue to demean, defame, and deceive regarding the work of pregnancy help. Fake reviews are posted online. Sidewalk advocates and 40 Days for Life prayer warriors are bombarded with insults and altercations.
Earlier this year, First Choice Pregnancy Services in Las Vegas was hit with graffiti on the outside of their building, and in autumn, the attorney general in California filed a lawsuit against Heartbeat International and a group of pregnancy medical clinics in the state in an effort to block advertising for Abortion Pill Reversal (APR).
Those who dislike what pregnancy centers do – which truthfully is to provide women with real choice, not just one pregnancy option – continue to refer to pregnancy medical clinics as “fake clinics” despite the fact these centers have a licensed medical physician overseeing the work done by nurses, who are also professionally trained to perform pregnancy tests and limited obstetrical ultrasounds and, in many cases, conduct STD testing and treatment.
Even politicians have gotten involved in the fight against pregnancy help centers. California’s attorney general joined 15 other state AGs this year to tarnish the reputation and integrity of pregnancy centers and in 2022, several Democrat senators, including Elizabeth Warren, Corey Booker, and Bernie Sanders, sent a scathing letter to Heartbeat International, defaming the organization and its pregnancy center affiliates.
Attacks come, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They come to us personally and professionally. We feel barraged and overwhelmed. We feel as if we’re suffocating, like walls are closing in around us, like darkness is prevailing.
Isaiah 9:2 tells us, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
Not everyone wants to live or walk in the Light. We are reminded in John 3:19, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (NIV).
Thankfully, the answer to our personal and professional darkness is Jesus. He hears our cries, He sees our pain, He listens to our prayers. Just like the Christmas lights my family and I enjoyed, light overcomes darkness, and the light brings joy and comfort.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 13:12, “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (ESV).
Jesus is our Light, and He asks us to be a light in a world of darkness. “… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 (ESV).
When we feel our light is fading, we can turn to Him to help us shine brighter in this broken world. He is the ultimate Light, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He lights our way, and His Spirit brings light into our pregnancy centers so that those we serve can step into that Light, and into eternal life, through Him.
Tweet This: Christ lights our way, and His Spirit brings light into our pregnancy centers so that those we serve can step into that Light
Before Bethlehem. Before a great star that shone in the east. Before Mary and Joseph. Before shepherds and wisemen. Before a manager. Before all this, Jesus was. He was and is the Word, and He is the Light that shines in the darkness. And He always will be.
May we hold onto these truths, the truths of the True Word of God, and may we allow His Light to shine in our darkness, personally and professionally. For though the darkness tries to overpower, it will never overcome.
May we remember these words from our Lord: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John 12:46 (ESV).
Shine, Jesus, shine!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTIGVIcHsFE
Words to “Shine, Jesus, Shine”
Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us
Set us free by the truth You now bring us
Shine on me, shine on me
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light
Lord, I come to Your awesome presence
From the shadows into Your radiance
By the blood, I may enter Your brightness
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness
Shine on me, shine on me
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light
As we gaze on Your kingly brightness
So our faces display Your likeness
Ever-changing from glory to glory
Mirrored here, may our lives tell Your story
Shine on me, shine on me
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light
Shine, Jesus, shine, fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word, Lord, and let there be light
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Graham A. Kendrick
Shine Jesus Shine lyrics © Make Way Music
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News.
