logoFICrealNewsletter
View in your browser
YOUR WEEKLY E-NEWS
November 2022 FIC cover

You may need to break to shine

Megan and Eli Neisius are pictured on the cover of the November issue, highlighting the article that Megan wrote about her journey as the mom of a medically fragile child. Read her story:

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!
Let it shine, all the time, let it shine!

Those words probably look familiar. You might even be singing them to yourself, reverting back to Sunday school when you loudly proclaimed your commitment to let Christ’s light shine through you. Your eight-year-old self probably felt it would be easy to radiate God’s love your whole life through—you could never imagine hiding your light under a bushel. No, you were going to let it shine!

But then things got complicated. You grow up, your problems become more complex, and your light begins to flicker. Life happens. Your mom gets diagnosed with cancer. You lose your job. Your child becomes sick. Letting your light shine becomes more difficult. The bold confidence you had as a child starts to fade, and your light grows dim.

My light was threatened in December 2020, when my water broke prematurely at 34 weeks pregnant. The dreams I had for a healthy baby vanished as I delivered a baby with immature lungs, a hidden genetic condition, and an unexpected brain malformation. I was heartbroken as I wrestled with God; everything seemed so unfair. While I was embarking on my NICU journey, friends were posting highlight reels of their beautiful, healthy babies, cherishing every moment of their new bundles in the comfort of their own home.
FICe-news-Button-Read_more
Eli, Samuel and Megan Neisius
Megan and Samuel Neisius with their son, Eli.

Explore these articles from the October issue:

For matchless grace

Church with rainbow in the background
Hey, Dad. You know that convenience store that makes those incredible milkshakes? The other evening my car’s on empty. On my way to that store to get gas, I order four milkshakes, one for everybody at the house. But when I get there, none of the payment apps on my phone will work. I don’t have . . .

What does this mean for me? Article 4

Man with question marks making a cross shape
“We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Have you ever read this and wondered? All of God’s Word is true, so this verse is true . . .

A second family

Teens holding up another teen
When Light of the Valleys, Reno, Nev., discovered it was going to have a vicar for the first time in 2021, it decided to embark on a new ministry opportunity—a campus ministry. The congregation—along with its two sister congregations in the Reno area . . .

OCT 22 web ad Bottom Page Banner
custom custom facebook instagram custom 
forwardinchrist.net
wels cross linking to wels.net