The Power of A Smile

Charlie Chaplin, the man who was - more often than not - serious in his silent movies, authored the song "Smile," whose lyrics spurs us to smile on, even when things are tough.

According to Charlie, life is still worthwhile and the world will smile with you, if you smile. :-)
To hear the song, click on this link: http://www.metrolyrics.com/smile-lyrics-charlie-chaplin.html

What a sweet encouragement, especially when we think of the power of words. Words can make us or break us; they can encourage us and they can tear us down. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When I started to tell people that I was divorced from the person they knew as my spouse, some of them would look at me in disbelief and say that they had no idea what I was going through, because, somehow, I managed to smile my way through my pain.
I was not sarcastic or sadistic, mind you. I did cry my share of tears, and boy, did I have a tough road to reach the point where I could actually talk about my separation and divorce experience without breaking down!
Nonetheless, I did not parade around crying 24/7 to gain others' sympathy, as my ex spouse pointed out to me. In fact, I cried in silence a lot of the time. I cried in restrooms. I cried in empty office spaces. I cried in empty parking lots. I cried at home, alone. I also cried in my vehicle a lot.
At times, my sadness would implode and would show itself in the form of a panic attack. I had to take multiple trips to the Emergency Room in Georgia, Indiana and even in Virginia because of severe panic attacks. Panic attacks are not fun and they are scary, especially when you are by yourself. One time, while still in Georgia, I had a panic attack so severe while I was on the road, that I parked my car on the shoulder and lay behind my car in hopes that someone would see me and come to my rescue. And God sent a semi-truck driver who was travelling on the opposite side of the road to assist me. He called 911 and off I went in an ambulance. That day I scared myself and my friend Cathy, with whom I was living at the time (2010), and she immediately drove to that small town to get me and even found someone to drive my vehicle back.

Those were horrible times I hope to never go through again. They are very painful and they eat up your health and livelihood. And if you do not seek help, you will allow yourself to dwindle down to nothing.

I am so very grateful for good friends that God has granted me to encourage me and to help me stay focused in what is important. And sometimes, they even got me to have a belly laugh. Those friends made a huge difference in my life and helped me to steer forward even when I thought I couldn't.

Yesterday I ran into two ladies (mother and daughter) at the grocery store, whom I met back in 2013. I stopped to chat and the mother said, "I did not recognize you until my daughter told me who you were. I remember when I first met you and even though you smiled, I could sense a tremendous sadness in your smile. But today, I met someone new. Your smile radiated the joy of the Lord and I smiled because of your smile." Chaplin was right; the world will smile with us when we smile, especially if our smile carries in it the joy of the Lord.

If you have gotten to the point where a smile takes great effort, do not give up. Keep on trying. It is like exercising, when you must keep on doing the same repetitions until you get the exercise right. Your smile will not only bring joy into your own life, but it may be the very thing someone in pain may need at the time you smile, and you both will benefit from it.

Luska