Smile!

As I looked for pictures of smiley faces,

this one struck me as really true for

Christians. We should be the happy, joyful,

smiling ones in this world full of

sorrow, pain, and sadness.

"Smile! Because Jesus loves you and so do I!" This was my "motto" as of a little while back—that is, until it was used on me. To start at the beginning, several months ago I got this jingle stuck in my head so, whenever anyone in my family was upset, discouraged, or sad, that is what I told them. Well, once when I was upset, my little sister told me the same thing. It didn't help. It practically only made me madder for some reason. Anyways, I didn't use that saying with anyone again for a long time.However, the next time she told me that, I stopped. And I thought. I realized that, because I am a Christian, I have every reason to be happy, and I should let that joy show through. Wow, Jesus loves ME. The creator of the entire world cares enough to love a sinful girl like me. That meant a lot to me. It's not easy to be smiling and keep this in mind, but from now on, I'm going to try to let that joy show through me. I have every reason to smile, to be joyful—I am loved. And you know what? So are you! No matter who you are, what you've done, or what you are going through, Jesus loves you and is waiting for you to run into His open arms. So, smile! Jesus loves you and so do I!