Please welcome our guest writer for “Tuesdays With Tracy” today, Carol Abersold.  Carol is the best selling author of “The Elf On The Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.” She is currently traveling throughout America signing books and bringing smiles to children everywhere.  Please check out her wonderful website at: www.elfontheshelf.com. My daughter, Alyssa goes onto her website daily to make cookies for Santa.  I know you will be blessed by Carol’s devotional today.  Does anyone have a light?

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give praise to your Father who is in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Although I had tried to faithfully serve the Lord for more than fifty years, my light, for all intents and purposes, was out.  I found myself in the blackest of pits mentally, physically and spiritually. I had been physically suffering with three herniated discs in my neck, my husband’s business was failing, and my in-laws let me know how much they disliked me after thirty-four years of pretense. I found myself curled up in a ball weeping and crying out to God for help, healing and deliverance.  All hope seemed gone. Why was I, a Sunday school teacher, amateur Bible scholar, a word believing, walking, talking Christian suffering from hopelessness?!! My usually strong husband was suffering from his own worries ( I was one of them), and I “turned to God” but He seemed to be on vacation.  What was the deal!

My oldest daughter came over to pray for me.  She took action and made an appointment for me to get professional Christian counseling, and she encouraged me to start writing.  My Eeyore-like reply was, “I have nothing to say.” Determined child (adult) that she is, she looked up on a shelf in my kitchen where my little pixie elf from childhood still remained even though the holidays were past.  “Why don’t we write a book about the elf tradition?” she said.  My reply was, “Oh, Chanda, nobody would want to read that……Okay.”

And so we began writing what turned out to be The Elf On The Shelf: A Christmas Tradition. While we were in the process of writing the story, I received the professional help I needed from Tracy Hurst.  These two women, Chanda and Tracy, let the Lord use them to shine His light upon me. He graciously healed me from my pain,  the source of our financial drain was revealed to us, and most importantly… I got my light back. The point is this: a Christian woman’s light never completely goes out, but it can grow extremely dim.  Perhaps, you, like I, need someone  to shine their light on you until you can get your “batteries recharged.” Don’t be afraid, just receive it.  In turn, when darkness seems present in another’s life do not hesitate to shine your God-given light.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, let me be equally as willing to be set alight, as to shed light. Let the Holy Spirit remind me not to lose heart, because I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Let me not be ashamed to seek proper help when my light seems to dim, and let me be a beacon shedding Your light on everyone I meet today. Amen.