Beacons of hope

I often wonder if we realise how much we mean to the people around us? And how little we need to do to make a difference? I wonder if we fully appreciate how the smallest gesture of love and encouragement can make the biggest difference to the people in our lives.. How we have the potential to be a beacon of hope for those who are weak..

When I look at my life and the moments when I was broken, I mean even when it was at it's absolute worst and I was laying in bed crying out to God to save me from the choices I had made. When everything I thought I knew about who I was had been shattered and for the first time in my life I found myself completely broken.. In those moments I had forgotten how to have hope and I felt so far from the person I was inside that I didn't know how to encourage myself anymore. It was in that moment and the moments that followed that I began to see the beacons of hope which had been placed around me. It wasn't a light from within me that lifted me up out of that dark place and lit the path moving forward, it was the light of those around me. I call them my beacons of hope.

My path to this point has been lit by the encouragement and hope spoken into me and my life by my family, my friends and the women in my life who had been there before. Sometimes it was something as simple as a loving smile or hug, other times it was a mammoth conversation over coffee or too many glasses of wine but each of the moments had one thing in common; they were always filled with love, encouragement and hope for my future. It was in those moments that the path was lit. I will never forget the beacons of hope who provided me with light in my darkest hour because I am here in this moment because of them. I now look for the moments in life where I can be a beacon of hope for the people in my life and I encourage you to do the same.

People are hurting, our world is full of deep dark places, there are paths that desperately need our light and it's not hard to be a beacon of hope in this darkness. Smile at a person on the bus, tell your friend she's beautiful, praise your children/husband/co-worker, encourage the people in your life to dream... When someone tells you their problem don't agree that it is insurmountable (even if it is that doesn't help!) instead give them hope that it will all work out, encourage them to push through, you can be the light in their darkness.

Each of us is full of smiles, hugs, love, words of hope and encouragement and it costs nothing to give these things away.. in fact I don't think we could give away all of the smiles and hugs we had even if we tried!  So give them away. Become a beacon of light for the people in your world because what costs you nothing could be a glimpse of light in the world of someone who is living in a deep dark place.. Light up your world :) 

I pray that each of us takes the time to be a beacon of hope and light the darkness around us and for those who are in deep dark places, I pray you can open your eyes to the beacons of hope in your world and allow them to light the path out of the darkness. You are beautiful, loved and believed in xx