Smile
“A smile is the beginning of peace.”
After a quieter than usual Christmas thanks to Covid, we are enjoying that weird post-turkey coma lull while awaiting the new year. My daughter, Noelle received some Frozen themed presents [an Elsa doll and Olaf snowman] so naturally we had to take advantage of this chill week and have a Frozen movie marathon. One thing that caught my attention in the sequel was Elsa’s anthem. “Into The Unknown.” The magnetic force she feels towards a new adventure, [albeit one she didn't ask for] is palpable.
In the past few years, New Year’s has triggered my anxiety. Mentally it can feel like I am being pulled by a river current towards a waterfall’s edge. It is only recently that I have recognized that this trepedation has robbed me of my sense of adventure. Instead of viewing these uncharted waters full of amazing possibilities, I fear it in a loom and doom sense. That’s a messed up way to live. Proverbs 31:25, “She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Now that is truly living. I recall getting on my first ever flight at just 18 years old. I traveled solo, moving across the world to Australia to study. That took real gumption. I want to get reacquainted with who I was a half lifetime ago. Deep down underneath the layers of worry, I am still in there. As the new year approaches, my theme for the year is: smile. We cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can choose to smile. I was texting a dear friend who lives multiple time zones away a few days ago about this who wisely reminded me, “God’s hands are the safest place to be.” That truth quiets the fears and quells the worries which allows me to radiantly smile from the inside out. Let’s have some fun in 2022!
Banner Image via Pinterest. Image is not my own.
CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR’S RECAP
