Cheerfulness on Your Sleeve!

I’ve always seemed to have had a cheerful disposition.  One would be hard-pressed to find me without a smile.  It is also really difficult to get me down.  I believe that I inherited my mother’s genes in that specific department.  Most people that knew her would agree that she could brighten up the darkest of rooms… simply by walking in!  In many respects, you could say the same exact thing about my wife Piper.  That’s just another reason that we got along so well… pretty much from day one, on that warm September morning as seniors in high school, way back when!

Through the years, we grew to possess an innate understanding of the power of cheerfulness in individuals, as well as in the workings of a group of people.  Piper was, what I would call, “the bearer of cheer” in her immediate family.  As our families matured and her folks aged, she could turn a quiet or even sullen holiday gathering into a happy event, complete with smiling faces and congenial attitudes.  As the Alzheimer’s worked to rob her of her ability to communicate, the atmosphere of the family events were noticeably different.

I learned early on, in the battle for Piper’s health, that my wide range of responsibilities for her care not only covered all her personal needs and the medical and financial requirements but also included surrounding her in an environment of faith and cheerfulness… pretty much everywhere we went… whether it was at a doctor’s office, the pharmacy, the grocery store, at church and even at family gatherings.

I learned the two sides of cheerfulness in the midst of those most difficult times, as Piper’s body physically deteriorated before my eyes and her overall health declined.  On the one hand, I could easily see how simple it would be to give in to what one’s physical senses are yelling at them, put aside any cheerfulness and give in to hopelessness and fear with its accompanying symptoms of sadness, sorrow and depression.  And on the other hand, fight to keep 100% of your focus on the promises of God in His Word and choose to walk in the cheerfulness that always attends to this level of faith.

Speaking on this subject, the author of the book of Hebrews writes in regard to the full assurance of our faith declaring, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:35-36 KJV)  The two most important words in this verse, to me, are “CONFIDENCE” and “PATIENCE” and both of them contain an element of cheerfulness within their practice! 

According to Wuest’s Word Studies, CONFIDENCE means, “freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech, free and fearless confidence, cheerful courage, boldness, and assurance."  While Strong’s defines PATIENCE as “cheerful (or hopeful) endurance or constancy”

So, from these two verses alone, you can understand the importance of holding on to and demonstrating your faith with a cheerful attitude and happy demeanor in the midst of difficult times.  In my simple way of thinking… God in His Word, is clearly telling us to live our faith with a smile on our faces!  This may sound like a cliché… but I can’t tell you how many times a person’s frown turned upside down after their eyes traveled from Piper in her wheelchair, up to the smile on my face as I pushed her into a doctor’s waiting room, down the aisle in a store or on the sidewalk as we walked around our neighborhood!

I believe in living my faith on my sleeve… and in doing so, help to encourage others and… uphold the legacy of faith that Piper demonstrated throughout her life.

How about you?

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do… do it CHEERFULLY while EXPECTING God’s best in your life!