Rx: Smiling

"A merry makes a cheerful countenance,

but by sorrow of the heart...the spirit is broken."

Proverbs 15:13

At work today, one of my fellow employees said that if you are always humming or singing...then you have a joyful heart.  I can remember my dad saying this also.  A smile in your heart means a smile on your face.  My boss sings all the time.....and I mean ALLLL the time.  :) 

But, how can we smile when we are having such a hard time?  With three girls in our home....3 teenage girls in our home....we have a lot of emotions and at times a lot of drama.  Its amazing to me how one minute they can be singing and talking on their cell phones and the next they are sulking, pouting and not talking at all.  This basically comes from the fact that they ARE girls and are in the midst of growing up! 

But then there is guilt.  Guilt does not know any songs.  It is very hard to crack a smile when we are dealing with guilt.  Guilt has a way of making us feel soo ashamed over sinful behavior that we dare not even look to Jesus because we know he wont be smiling back at us over the sin that has been committed.  Guilt is God's way of getting our attention but once we ask for forgiveness, guilt is the devil's way of making us feel worse.  Once God forgives us...he never brings the sin up again. WOW!!!  So, the sin and guilt that we keep hanging on to is the devils way of making us loose our focus....and when we loose our focus, we quit looking to Jesus for our healing.  God offers forgiveness that mends our memories, and he smiles when he hears our whispered "sorry's" and turns them into joy.

That's some pretty amazing medicine God has for us!  FORGIVENESS!!!  This medicine is always available thru prayer.  It cures the guilt so we can move on to share His medicine with others and then leaves us with a song in our heart!  :)