October 8, 2008

Try a Smile!

2008 1528 page31 capn a fast-paced world, our busy schedules bring both positive and negative stressors into our lives. For instance, watching the news, getting to work on time, balancing the checkbook, relocating, buying a new car, coping with a difficult relationship, retiring, starting school or a new job, or getting married can all induce stress. Despite the stressful things that bombard us, however, we are admonished to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4).* Furthermore, we know that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine” (Prov. 17:22). To have a merry heart and a rejoicing spirit, we must develop healthful coping skills to avoid becoming overwhelmed with the stressors that affect us.
 
People use a variety of stress-reducing activities, but I’d like to recommend a healthful strategy often not acknowledged as a good stress buster. It feels good, boosts one’s health, costs nothing, and is easily and effectively implemented by all age groups. It’s—SMILING!
 
Consider the Following:
¡ Medical references indicate that it takes more facial muscles to frown than it does to smile.
¡ Smiling, as well as laughing, causes our brains to produce endorphins, giving us a sense of pleasure, peace, and well-being.
2008 1528 page31¡ A genuine smile increases serotonin production, a hormone that increases our feelings of joyfulness and lifts our spirits.
¡ Smiles are inborn tools that can brighten our moments and perhaps lighten the day for someone else.
¡ When we smile, we’re healing ourselves and the world around us.
 
A smile is a unique and purposeful ingredient that God has put within our realm of emotional expressiveness and positive interpersonal exchanges. Smiles are the perfect prescription for the admonition we are given to “never let a frown gather upon your brow.”† Each day that you go to work or wherever you are, you can brighten up that space with a smile.
 
Regardless of the attitudes that others approach you with, determine, through God’s strength, not to be robbed of your smile.
 
In a moment of frustration or difficulty, take a deep breath as you say a silent prayer and plant a smile on your face right then (appropriate to the situation, of course)! God will give you a response that shifts the weight of the situation to Him and allows His loveliness to be seen in the smile that you wear.
 
Are you getting a glimpse of the power of a smile? Proverbs 15:13 reads: “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.” To me, that sounds like a countenance with a smile. As your mouth begins to curl up into a smile, your feelings are likely to follow the upward swing so that positive thinking will embrace you.
 
Just as a sweet-smelling rose shares its aroma, smiles spread to others—so keep them in motion! Let your coworkers bask in the sunshine of your smile. Change a stranger to a friend through the beauty of your smile. Strengthen your heart through the healing of your smile. Bless the world with the radiance of your smile. Finally, honor God by the sincerity of 
your smile.
 
Remember, the smile you share today may be just the ray of light that lets a dying soul know that God cares. God bless you, and KEEP SMILING! ¡
 
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*All scriptural references are taken from the King James Version.
†Ellen G. White, Child Guidance, p. 264.
 
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Cherryl A. Galley, Ph.D., teaches in the Psychology Department of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama.

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