I love the video at the bottom! :)“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, they whole body shall be full of light” – (Matthew 6: 23). Have you ever noticed how some people just seem to have a real glow about them? Some people, all we have to do is make eye contact with them and suddenly our day is just a little better. These people seem to expel sunshine from their face, something truly angelic. I notice for myself, as I meet these people in my own life, I am drawn to them, and I have a desire to be close to them. I do not believe this is happenstance, but rather a part of something which they have truly a part of them. The source of this inspiring light is Jesus Christ. He is the light we need to let shine for all men. I know as we focus on serving and following Him, the periods and pieces of darkness in our lives can made clean and whole through the sacrifice and atonement of Jesus Christ.
Striving to make the light of Christ a part of us takes a daily effort on our part. It is a continual effort of putting off the natural man, and turning, and then yielding our hearts to Jesus Christ. Just as cancer can erode us physically, sin also can damage us spiritually. Just as recovering from cancer is more involved than a simple pill, repentance also is much more than a simple confession in our lives.
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, previously, I had had almost every symptom of it; and yet, we did not have any idea I had anything like cancer until getting the news from the doctor. How many times do we have a sin which is degrading our own lives? Something which we are unwilling to admit we have. The pain and damage is there all the same, but we of ourselves are blind to the handicap it causes us. Just as the fatigue and other symptoms were so prevalent in my life with the cancer, it took some time before finding what the real cause was. The first thing we need to do is recognize there is a problem. To fill our souls with light, we need to first open ourselves to the light. We need to be aware of what things hinder the light in our lives.
Pride is a shield which the adversary gives us to keep the light of Christ from our lives. How often do we become complacent and accepting of who we are? We think we are good enough, unable to change, and we have to settle with where we are? If I had ever chosen to settle with where I was, or just how I was born with cancer, I would be dead today. It is the same with sin in our lives. While our bodies are not meant to last, our spirits are eternal and they will last. If we leave sin unchecked, it can consume and destroy us spiritually. We first recognize the sin in us by coming unto Christ (Ether 12: 27). As we make our lives more in line with Christ’s, we are able to overcome the sins and the weaknesses we have.
How do we come closer to Christ in our lives? How do we make our lives like His? Sometimes in my own life I feel like it is standing at the edge of an ocean, and being told I need to get across. I have no idea what the end picture is, but I know as we follow the Spirit, He will guide our next step and help us across to the end. It is the same with overcoming cancer, I certainly couldn’t see what I would be doing now from the start, but we start with where we are. We follow the commandments; we take the time to pray, we read in the scriptures. As we do what we can to fill Christ in our lives, He will guide us to the next step. We first focus and put our faith in Him. We trust the power and love He has for us, and we realize with His help we can return to live with God. We recognize the mistakes we have, we repent, we make changes to get them out of our lives and find good things to replace them. We make promises to follow Him again, baptism is symbolic of this promise. As we promise to follow Him, God gives us His spirit as our guide and companion. I do know God loves us. I know through the spirit we can find comfort, understanding and guidance in our lives. I have found it not only with the physical struggles with cancer, but also spiritually. We can find healing for our sins and shortcomings. Overcoming one obstacle, we continue to rely on Christ. He will show us the next step we can make.
I am grateful we have a loving Father in Heaven. I am grateful for the cancer which has helped me to realize His love for me. I am grateful for His gospel. I am grateful for the guidance we receive from the Holy Ghost. We know this gospel was lost with the death of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The Dark Ages were dark for a reason. The light of Christ has been brought to the earth in full force again. It has been restored to the earth by God through a modern prophet in our day. I know we can pray, ask God, and get a witness from Him it is true. We don’t start with everything at once, but God leads us one step at a time. We can read the Book of Mormon; see the light of Christ it brings in our lives. We can receive a witness from the spirit it is true. As we know the Book of Mormon is true, we can come to know Joseph Smith is a prophet, and we can know this is the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth today. I know as each of us turn and follow Him, He will help us with everything we need. As we fill our lives with Him, the light in us will grow, and fill us with His joy and love.
I loved this video talked about how we can find the light in our own lives.
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