If you have been an avid follower of my writing so far, you may have picked up on something. I like to write about Jesus. I like to write about things that require me to dig into His word and remind me of His promises. I like to write about things that I feel He would want others to hear as well as myself. I try to write about things that allow me to try and let my light shine and things that remind me that He is good, because sometimes life isn't.When life gets mean and cuts me to the core, sometimes, that little light inside my heart grows a little dim.

During those times when life gets hard and it seems that I'm swallowed up by the darkness, this little light of mine inside my heart, may grow a little dim, but it never burns out.

Sometimes my light grows a little dim whenever I know someone I love has been mistreated. Sometimes my light grows a little dim whenever I hear of a loved one who is battling a life-threatening illness. Sometimes my light grows a little dim whenever I'm discouraged. Sometimes my light grows a little dim whenever I think about how bad things continue to happen to good people. And sometimes,

my light grows a little dim simply becauselife is hard.

I wish there was a way to sugar coat it. I wish that I could promise you all that you'll never have to struggle or that life will never completely break your heart. I wish that I could tell you that you'll always be happy and that you'll never have to experience gut wrenching pain. As much as I'd like to promise you all of those things, a life of pure joy and happiness, I can't. But I can tell you this, if you never allow that little light of yours inside your heart to burn out, you'll make it through.

So how do you do that? How do you keep that little light inside of your heart burning bright and shining for all of the world to see when life brings you to your knees?

To keep that little flame burning inside of your heart, you need to know that when times get hard, trust Him. You need to know that you'll find your strength in Jesus and that His strength is the only thing capable of getting you through. You need to know that He isyour light. You need to know that each time you pray, study and dig deeper into His word searching for His strength, that you're adding more wood to the fire, allowing your light to shine brighter and brighter. By allowing your light to shine brighter and brighter when life gets messy, you're not letting others see you, but letting others see Him.

"There's a little flame inside us all. Some shine bright. Some shine small. The rains will come and the waters rise, but don't you ever lose your light. In this life you will know love and pain, joy and sorrow. So when it hurts, when times get hard, don't forget whose child you are."- Addison Road.

There are going to be times when you will want to let your light burn out. Life will seem so hard and everything in your will want to throw in the towel instead of trusting in Him to bring you through, but keep fighting and keep fighting hard. Because while you're fighting with all your might to keep that little light of yours inside your heart burning bright, know that He's proud of you for trying.

I struggle with letting this little light of mine shine all of the time.

Sometimes this world leaves my heart so weary and discouraged that I just can't stand the thought of it. Sometimes it feels like it's storm after storm after storm and nothing makes sense at all. But I know this, with every storm and fire that I am walking through, God has a purpose and a plan behind it that I'll understand someday. But until then, I'll keep walking, trusting, and fighting to keep my light shine.

"One day there will be no more pain and we will finally see Jesus' face. So until then I'm gonna try to brave the dark and let my little light shine."- Addison Road.

Keep braving the dark, sweet soul. You're doing just fine.