I am sure that I
have probably mentioned this before, but Piper and I have always been the sort
of odd-balls in our perspective families.
Now, I don’t necessarily mean this as a bad thing, but rather to point
out that we tend to stand apart from the rest in a variety of ways. The two most discernible areas would be in
our easy-going and laid back approach to life, and that we tend to look on life
and experience it with a smile and a laugh!
I know that I tend
to take after my Mom and her Dad, as I have been told of this by my Mom and by
others in our family. Both of them were
happy individuals, always had an encouraging word, and made you feel like a
million bucks when you were in their presence.
And while I didn’t know Piper’s paternal Grandfather, as he had passed a
year or so previous to our getting together, I would have to say that Piper, in
many ways, resembles her paternal Grandma or “Gam” as they affectionately
called her. In the short amount of time
that I had to get to know Gam, she struck me as one who was confident in who she
was, always had a glint of mischief in her eyes, a positive outlook on life and
a smile
on her face. Gam was the unsaid leader
of the entire family, both young and old alike.
If I was to sum up
our life up to this point, I would have to use the words fun, spontaneous, and laughter! I recently came across a photograph taken of
my wife in the parking lot of one of the California State Beaches on our Sonoma
County coast about 45 minutes from our home.
From the look of the surroundings, the occasion was a family outing at
Goat Rock State Beach about ten years ago.
In the pic she is standing next to her Suburban wearing a seemingly conflicting
outfit of blue shorts and a heavy blue wool Pea Coat with the hood pulled up… the typical attire for a summer afternoon at
our coast!
To me, the
outstanding part of the pose though, is the huge smile that she has on her
face. I really don’t recall what she was
laughing at, but her expression of glee that is captured on film is an accurate
portrayal of her personality and the perfect summary of our life together. Cheerfulness and laughter has always been a
core value of our family. It has been
one of the key elements that has helped us through the hard times as well as
the easy times. I guess you could say
that in many respects, it has become our trademark to those who really know us.
Psalm 100:2
encourages us to “Serve the Lord
cheerfully. Come into his presence with a joyful song.” (God’s Word ©) In what many consider Charles Spurgeon’s
greatest work, “The Treasury of David”
which is an excellent treatise on the book of Psalms, the author states
concerning this verse that “we ought in
worship to release the presence of God.”
As I read this earlier today, I instantly thought of how our cheerful
attitudes have the potential to release the presence of God into other people’s
lives. I have found that a smile is more welcomed by those
around you than is a frown. An uplifting
word is more ably received than a complaint.
The Message Bible
paraphrases Psalm 100:2 as “Bring a gift
of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.” According to that interpretation, a smile
and a laugh have just as much a positive effect to God as it does to those in
whom we interact with each day of our lives!
A cheerful attitude and a hardy laugh are not only good for your
spiritual life, but medical science has also proven that it does good for one’s
physical and emotional well-being as well! *
This morning as I
was helping my wife to get out of bed she stumbled a bit, but as I already had
my arms around her, I simply held her a little tighter and softly told her that
it was okay and that she was safe in my arms.
At that moment I had to smile as I thought how God tells us
the same thing whenever we have a need and reach out to Him. Then as I sat her on the edge of the bed so I
could comb her hair, I had to laugh aloud as I pondered the reality that my first
reaction to the thought of God’s goodness to me was to smile!
Can you say the
same thing about your initial reaction when you think about our loving heavenly
Father? Depending on the translation
that we read from, Psalm 100:2 is instructing us to be cheerful,to be happy, to
find delight in, or simply to be glad in our service to the Lord. Do you find your service to Him as a chore or
as a joyful experience? Do you find
yourself smiling more than frowning throughout the days of your
life? Do you approach the situations of
life as problems or as opportunities to joyfully trust in the Lord?
This season of
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to think about such questions and to make
whatever adjustments that might need to be made in order to line up with David’s
exhortations in Psalm 100:2. Have a good
day. Stay in tune to His Word, and keep
asking yourself… “What am I expecting TO SMILE ABOUT today?”
* (See: http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm
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