Dear Reader:

I remember, as a child, watching the old black and white mystery series of shows filmed in the fifties and sixties (both here and in England) that showed occupants of apartments or houses always peeping through their peepholes in front doors to check to see who was outside knocking.

I always thought that was so cool and I kept asking mother to get us a door with a peephole in it too. I had an uncle who had one door with a peephole and I was always running to it…pulling a chair up next to it to peep out. My sweet uncle would purposefully ring the door bell and stand outside while I peeped away.

Today, of course, there is so much new technology in this department that video cameras and all kinds of gadgets can let anyone know who is outside before they get close to the door (for a hefty price of course.) *Now as an adult, having this technological addition, doesn’t interest me in the least. Cameras just don’t hold up to the excitement of tiny peepholes in old wooden doors.

Some days, if I have time left over after writing the blog for the next day, I will scan quickly through Facebook to see if anything exciting is happening with friends or acquaintances. If I am scanning fast…I mostly see a blur of smiling faces as people of all ages are smiling back at me from all kinds of different locations and situations.

It dawned on me one day, while sending Kaitlyn some old pictures of Tommy growing up and other family pictures for the wedding, that I could remember particular smiles from certain photos…and the smiles were “fake” –  bribed with candy or some other reward. The smiles didn’t come from the heart but the watering mouth.

This thought made me realize that when we skim through life… accepting at face-value what we see before us…we are only watching one small part of the puzzle. Behind all these Facebook smiles are real people with real problems trying hard to create images of self-confidence and control over their lives…at least for the fraction of a second the camera catches them in this “act.”

I am a “smil-er”…somewhere way back in my adolescent development I realized that smiling came more natural to me than frowning. (And if one has to choose between smile wrinkles or frown wrinkles I prefer the smiley ones.) I just intuitively dislike negativity…a lot.

I avoid negative people and situations as much as I can and instead look for people who can smile and laugh at themselves. ( A lot of my laughing is self-directed at my own ridiculous antics over the years.)

I think I got my daddy’s upbeat personality from the few stories I have been told about him and if this is so…then I thank him for this very precious gift. Like everyone I have my moments when I ‘get down’ but something in me doesn’t allow it to stay and fester. I have to get out and be with people again….I love people.

In May’s edition of Azalea Magazine, Lili Hiser, had an interesting ‘take’ on this subject called “The Bigger Picture.” Here are some excerpts from this column I really liked.

“The reality is, we are all on a frayed tightrope somewhere in our life—there is no filter tool or posed selfie that can truly hide it. When others see just a millisecond snapshot of our life, they don’t see the bigger picture. Behind the smiles and sunset landscapes could lie a relationship on the rocks, tears of infertility, unimaginable pain due to the death of a loved one, chronic illness, divorce, lack of self-esteem, mental health challenges, financial crisis, a shameful past, depression, the darkness of addiction, the cycle of abuse… and the list goes on. Even with the best spin on life, however, there is someone who sees each of our struggles and knows every detailed brush stroke on our life portrait.

God cannot be fooled by personas; He sees us struggling with each of our balancing acts in life. In Hebrews 4:13 it states “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight…”, which is a reminder that the bigger picture, the one even we cannot see, is known only by Him.

As humans, we need to remember that many struggles are unseen, even to the keen eye; so let’s be kinder, loving and non-assuming. In an age where perfection is glorified and promoted, remember God offers rest to the weary, comfort to the hurting, and power to overcome.”

*Amen.

So until tomorrow let us remember that our smiles hide many scars obtained along our life journey. The smile is our badge of honor showing the world that we might be battered…but never beaten while holding God’s Hand.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I am smiling as I am typing this morning….I have “Old Faithful” back with my big keyboard…my fingers are literally flying across it… so happy not to be pecking away like a chicken with two fingers.

…And to add a ‘cherry’ on top…it is still raining as I type away…the rain pitter patters outside my window while my fingers do the same on the keyboard…life has a beautiful rhythm this morning. It is a “Yeah Day!”

*…And speaking of “Yeah” Days Matthew let us know that the surgery went “beautifully” … now the hard part is starting…the healing and therapy. Thanks everyone for all your prayers…no doubt in my mind they guided that surgeon’s hand with the sharpest precision. We love you Jackson!

…Now to leave you with a smile on your face…