Smile

Smiles...they are free, they are beautiful, they are contagious, they don't expire, they don't run out...why don't we use them all the time?  Have you ever noticed from time to time, especially when life feels a little too full and busy, that you have had a very serious look on your face for a good part of the day.  Sometimes, for me, one of our children will draw my attention to it, by asking if something is wrong; or often it is simply by the act of smiling that I realize it has been a long day and maybe I haven't smiled much at all.  To me, that is an indication that my joy meter may be low.

Why bother smiling anyway?  Aside from the reasons already given above, I like the fact that smiles almost always double - it is wonderful to smile at someone you love and see their face light up as they smile back.  I know that I often take life too seriously, and as I glance around and see my precious family around me, I am reminded to relax and let go of the stresses of life and enjoy what I have been blessed with.  Consistently, when I am smiling, my children are smiling and happier too.  I want my children to remember their mom as someone who was JOY-filled!  Smiles and laughter play a big part in that - but as in so many other things in life, sometimes we have to DO IT before we FEEL IT!

I once read an article by mother of eight - Teri Maxwell, in which she wrote about the importance of choosing to smile even when she didn't want to.  She was sharing about a time of struggling through depression when she realized she was so low, that her children were rarely seeing her smile anymore.  She was asking God to heal her, but it wasn't happening instantly - so, she determined that from the moment she would leave her bedroom in the morning, there would be a smile on her face, whether she felt that way inside or not.  An amazing thing happened, as she tells the story - not only were her children amazed that she was smiling, she started to feel things change - slowly, one day at a time!  And, her children were so excited to see her happy that everyone else increased drastically in their joy and happiness!  What a testimony to the power of a smile.

Another thing I have observed with our family, is that when I am helping my children learn something; whether it is tying shoes, reading, baking, etc., they are so much more relaxed to learn from me if I am smiling and positive.  There are so many times it is just more "natural" to wear a frown, but I like what the character from the movie, Annie used to say ~ You're never fully dressed without a smile!  Whether we are lacking joy or just tired from lack of sleep, the habit of smiling is well worth growing in.

It really boils down to one of the fruits of the Spirit; don't just try to manufacture it on you own, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with joy.  You can't be full of joy and not have it bubble up from deep within, it says in Galatians 5:22 that, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY..."  One of my children has an ongoing tendency to try and act upset, even if he is happy on the inside; all I need to do to turn him around is to ask him if he has a smile hiding, and he can't help it - out it pops.  If the Spirit fills us with joy - we will be the same way, we won't be able to keep that smile hidden.

The next time you feel overwhelmed or down, instead of losing your cool or looking grumpy; ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit, that you may walk out the day in His strength.  Then, try a smile - see if your whole day doesn't turn around!

II Corinthians 3:18 "We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,

are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory,

which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."