Kathy King
The Gift of Glitter
“Spread encouragement like glitter. That stuff sticks! Years later you’ll still find it all over the place.”
Unknown
Glitter.
What an interesting and sometimes annoying thing.
You can’t just have a little of it.
It gets all over everything.
When you think you have cleaned it all up.
You think it is all gone.
Well, you find it again in a small corner, twinkling and sparkling around.
Life needs a little glitter, now and then.
When you can’t find any sparkle anywhere.
You look at the situation, you pray and wait.
You just can’t find a single positive situation in which to meditate.
The room seems dark with no light to be found.
When out of the corner of your eye a little shimmer and shine catches your eye.
Wait! That’s glitter! How could that be?
You thought you had cleaned it up, you thought that there was no sparkle to see.
Treat encouragement like glitter.
Spread it around.
You might need it when there is no goodwill to be found.
Another soul might need that glitter when all they see is black and gray.
Give that complement.
Say that prayer.
Spread glitter and joy each and every day.
Confession. I actually like sparkly things a lot. It drives my husband crazy. Glitter eyeshadow? Got it. Glittery shirts? Yep. Glittery phone case? You bet! I love things that shine. I understand why he does not like it. Glitter does tend to get in every nook and cranny imaginable. When I saw the quote above I immediately began to smile. This brought to mind the current zeitgeist at the moment. We seem so divided, do we not? Yet, I am not so sure that we are actually irrevocably divided. I think that the trolls have a very loud social media microphone at the moment. How do we take it back?! Spread glitter. Not untruths, not tickle your fancy words that mean nothing. But rather, truth. If you are a student of history you know that the human spirit is a force to be reckoned with. When the odds were stacked against them, they rallied their spirits through faith, the words of others and good old fashioned encouragement. They found the glitter sparkling in the corner that they thought had surely been gone for some time. I have written a lot about historical figures during war. I don’t know why I find their stories fascinating, but I just do. Probably because I am in awe of the tenacious spirit. One such person was Desmond Doss. The first conscientious objector to receive a medal of honor. He was a deeply religious man who was also a pacifist. When World War II started he enlisted in the Army to become a combat medic. Because of his beliefs, he refused to train with a weapon or train on Saturdays. He was so convinced of his pacifism that he was brought before a tribunal to be expelled from the military. Eventually his father (who was a WWI veteran) intervened and was able to prove that his son’s beliefs were protected by the constitution. His beliefs had him ridiculed mercilessly. When he came to the pacific theater to serve, he still was not treated very well by those around him. This did not sway his desire to help others. In Okinawa, the American soldiers were under very heavy attack. Doss, with no weapon saved over 75 of his fellow comrades who were injured and unable to save themselves. Each person that he came to save he prayed for. Each person he saved lowered them down a rope on the side of a steep hill. Because of his deep held beliefs he was able to help those who had persecuted him mercilessly. He was injured after saving so many lives. As he was carried down the steep hill himself he clutched his Bible, his firmly held beliefs that helped him to know that he could still be a warrior without ever touching a gun. I would say this man had to find some serious glitter to get through this task. I do not want to take away from just how much bravery he showed by his willingness to serve. But I can say it does not have to be glitter that gets you through, but you do need that hope, that faith, that willingness to pass truth and goodness to others to make it through this wonderful, awful, sometimes mundane, sometimes amazing path that we call life. Spread some Glitter.
My books are on Amazon!
The Quacktastic Adventures of Ellie and Lord Barks a Lot
The Case of the Missing Moo-Cow Bell
The Case of the Missing Bumbly Wumbly Bee
The Case of the Missing Wellies
The Case of the Missing Honk Honk
The Case of the Missing Ornaments
Clean it Up! Wash it Up!
Coming soon!
Appalachian Allegory: A Southern Novel
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A. Daniel King
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