Heart Matters
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
I absolutely love the 80’s song “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M. Just hearing it makes me want to just jump up and down and dance! Although my husband and sons think I’m crazy and can’t understand how I could love such a “cheesy song”, the lyrics, the music, just resonates with the child-likeness of my soul. If you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing the video, just imagine me right there with them jumping up and down and dancing-choosing and purposing to be a shiny happy person!
I truly believe Christians are CALLED to be Shiny, Happy, people. We have every reason to be! We have JESUS! Besides, Jesus Himself said we are the light of the world. We are to reflect the light of Christ to others! We’re to be shiny! Just think about it, who can see something shining and not go in for a closer look? Shiny things catch attention. Have you ever taken a walk and saw something in the distance glistening in the sun on the ground? If you have I’m willing to bet you didn’t just walk on by and ignore it. I’m sure you made a bee line to it. You wanted to investigate to see exactly what it was, to see if it was as valuable as it looked from far away. Fishermen often use different metallic shiny lures as bait because of it’s effectiveness for catching fish. Shiny is attractive! When my niece Kayla was small, like around 3 years old she told me she wanted me to wash and set her hair because she wanted it to be “shiny.” The next day she became quite angry when it didn’t meet her expectations. I’ll never forget her disgust and her lack of hesitation to communicate to me that I “didn’t get it shiny enough” (lol). Shiny is a good thing, even little kids know it. Today people have popularized terms such as “bling” “glitter and glam” but to me a simply “shiny’ is all that’s needed.
Have you ever met a “shiny” person. You know someone who always has a smile on their face. Someone who just radiates joy. You can see it in their eyes-they are happy people. I can’t go on without giving a shout-out to some of the most shiniest people I know: Mia, Tasha, Valerie, Chanel and Kaitlin…I want to be shiny every day just like you!