A “CROWS FEET” New Years!

If you personally knew my late wife Piper, or have gotten to know her through this blog, then you know that she was a very CHEERFUL person.  One would be hard-pressed to find her without a beautiful smile upon her face!  I have heard it said that an individual who has developed small lines radiating out from the external corner of their eyes, known as “Crow’s Feet”, should be content with those “mini-wrinkles” because they are proof that the person smiled a lot and most likely lived a very enjoyable life… and in doing so… blessed whomever was fortunate enough to spend time with them. 

And when it came to Piper… well… she had ‘em and proudly wore her “SMILE LINES” as a testament to her CHEERFUL and sparkling personality!

As the ravishes of Alzheimer’s began to overtake her natural ability to audibly converse, I bought her a large poster with the words of one of her most often stated scripture verses from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.  In this portion of scripture, the leader of the Israelites encouraged his people who had just returned to the devastation of their beloved Jerusalem, by announcing a day of feasting and celebration and he declared,

“This day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”  (Nehemiah 8:10 - KJV)

The poster vividly pronounces the later part of Nehemiah’s statement and simply and artistically imprints,

“THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH.”

I purposely hung the poster on the wall at the foot of her hospital bed in our room, so that it would be the first thing that she set her eyes upon in the morning, and was the last thing she saw at night.  When I moved into my new home here in Oklahoma, it was one of the first things that I adorned my bedroom wall with… so that it would also be the first thing that I saw each and every morning!

And it got put to good use yesterday, as I woke up… shall we say… less than enthusiastic about the day?  I had rolled on my back with my eyes still closed and then slowly opened them until I glanced upon Piper’s poster… and you know what?  It worked!  As I stared at the words printed on that large white piece of paper, I made the personal choice to be CHEERFUL… and by the time I swung my feet over the side of the bed and touched the floor… my entire attitude had changed!

Soon afterwards, after a few sips of my home brewed, steaming hot cup of Starbucks Vanilla coffee, with its “velvety and rich notes” of flavor (as the bag advertises), I sat at my desk and did a Bible Study search on the word “CHEERFUL.”  I used my Passion Translation of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs and came up with nine matches.

And as it turns out, the first verse that caught my attention had everything to do with my earlier experience with Piper’s poster!  It seemed as if the Lord was reading my mind… or observing my wake-up adventure through some secret spy cam in my bedroom!  In Proverbs 15:15 it reads,

“Everything seems to go wrong when you feel weak and depressed. But when you choose to be CHEERFUL, every day will bring you more and more joy and fullness.” 

It would seem that as one year comes to a conclusion today, and a bright new one begins tomorrow, that the good Lord was reminding me that an attitude and lifestyle of CHEERFULNESS is a personal decision that each of us has to make on a daily basis!  It is not something that is dependent on how we feel at any given moment, on the set of circumstances before us or on the balance of our checkbook.

Proverbs 15:13 chimes in on this truth and tells us that sadness is bad for your day.  In The Message paraphrase it declares that,

“A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face; a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.” 

And it further pushes the point in Proverbs 15:15 by bluntly stating that,

“A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song.” 

When I pried open my eyelids yesterday morning and looked upon Piper’s poster, I had an instant decision to make.  Did I want a miserable attitude to set the course of my day… or did I want a CHEERFUL heart to put a smile on my face… and at every click of the clock… cause me to experience more and more joy and fullness in everything I did?

Well… CHEERFULNESS won, hands down! …and if I learned anything from Piper… it was the constant rewards of a CHEERFUL disposition!  The Jamieson -Fausset-Brown Commentary also chimes in by confirming that “The state of the heart governs the outward condition.”

So… with this being my last blog post for 2022, I would like to declare a blessing on everyone and boldly profess over me as well as all of you, that:

“CHEERFUL is the way to BE in 2023!”

Be blessed and have a fun, safe and sound New Year!  Keep EXPECTING God’s BEST… and then pass it on along the way! 

Let 2023 BE the year where your “CROWS FEET” – SMILE LINES exemplify the enjoyable, CHEERFUL life you have chosen to live!

…and think about the encouraging words of ‘Piper’s Poster’ (try saying that fast 3 times!) first thing every day!