Busted Smiles

Greetings Friends,

I pray you are all doing spiritually well, even if the circumstances of your lives have been difficult (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4).

There was a boy who was reprimanded for laughing out loud during school (ever happen to you?). The boy responded to the teacher by saying, "Teacher, I didn't mean to. I was smiling, and the smile busted."

Have you ever experienced such joy, humor, laughter in your life that you just couldn't contain it? I know I have. I believe all of us have at one time or another. We laugh until we cry. We let loose and experience the joy of life and we don't want it to stop. We smile so much and laugh so hard that our faces hurt. There is a reason why they say that laughter is the best medecine. It is a cleansing of the soul - a releasing of pent up frustration, anger, and negativity. It lightens our lives and frees our souls.

So many times in life, we lose that joy. We are like the teacher telling the boy to stop laughing. Or like the little girl who looked at her grandmother and asked her how she felt. The grandmother said that she felt fine. The little girl then asked, "Well, if you feel good, why don't you tell your face?"

Take it from someone who has been there lately...it can be easy to lose our joy. We forget to tell ourselves that there is reason to be joy-full in our living. We forget because we focus on the wrong things. We focus on the economy, the political fights in our country, the gossip that surrounds us in the workplace, etc. etc. etc. We focus on our scarcity instead of our abundance. We focus on what isn't being done for us (no job, less money, kids not obeying, spouse not meeting our needs), instead of what has been done for us! Jesus went to the cross, in obedience to God, and died for us so that we may be able to experience the fullness of life and joy with Him!

I know that there are things in this world that concern us - and quite frankly they should. We are not to be apathetic towards injustices and wrongs that are being done. However, if our energies are focused on everything that is wrong, we forget what is right and what has been done to set us and the world right with God.

Friends, if you are struggling with joy, you've lost your focus, just like I had. And all it takes is to turn around and see that God is right there, with open hands and an open heart, to offer you the joy that you've been missing. Today, I choose joy! I choose to let my smile bust! How about you?

God of love and joy, fill me today with a joy that is beyond understanding, so that when I confront the struggles and challenges before me, I can do so with the fullness of your Spirit within me. In Jesus' holy name. Amen.

Take Care & God Bless,

Pastor Don