I was at Dollar Tree last night and there was a lady and two kids behind me in a LONG line. One was a big boy; the other was a little boy. The oldest had a packet of glow sticks and the baby was screaming for them, so the mom opened the packet and gave him one; which held back his tears.

She walked with him smiling, but then the older child took them and the baby started screaming again.

Just when the mom was about to complain about the older kid he folded the light bars and returned them to the baby.

As we were walking out at the same time, the toddler noticed the bar was now glowing and her brother said, "I had to break it so you could get the full effect."

I almost ran because I could hear God say to me, "I had to break you down to show you why I created you."
"You had to go through it to fulfill your purpose."

That little baby was happy just swinging that "uninterrupted" glow bar in the air because he didn't understand what it was created for, which was "glow."

There are some people who will be content with just "being", but some of us have been chosen by God to be "broken".

We have to get sick, we have to lose a job. We went through a divorce. We have to suffer the disease of
addiction. We have to bury our spouse, our parents, our best friend or our child because, in those moments of desperation, God is breaking us, but when the breaking is over, then we can see the reason we were created.

So when you see us shine, you must know we've been broken but healed by his Grace and Mercy!!!

Happy New Year this little light of mine; I’m going to let it shine.

By Jade Clark’s friend Tiffany Lopez
Elder of Children & Youth