Sarah J looks at how to get your smile back

Sarah J

Sometimes life is easy and you feel like you are in a happy musical. Other times doing life is tough and takes perseverance. The summertime for me was a time of sadness. I walked through a season of brokenness and loss which at times left me feeling sad, tearful and empty inside. A friend commented that it was a bit like I was going through bereavement and to go easy on myself while I processed my thoughts and feelings. People in my life noticed the absence of the Sarah smile, which since meeting Jesus has pretty much been a permanent fixture on my face. I love people asking me why I'm smiling because this gives me an excuse to tell them about Jesus and why He makes me so happy. So I was keen to get back to my smiley state of being. Walking with Jesus doesn't exempt me from walking through tough seasons but He does give me a way through them that helps to restore my soul. I wasn't sure this time of the way forward to help me move from feeling wintry and dead to feeling alive again.

I felt challenged about whether I believed in the resurrection of the dead. My faith in God is all based around believing that Jesus lived, died and rose again from the dead offering us life through having a relationship with a living God. So I have to place my trust in God that He is able to resurrect me when I feel dead. I can meditate on when He has lifted me in the past from difficulty and has brought healing to me - this reminds me of what He is able to do. I can think about things that make me feel hopeful that the future will improve.

I am encouraged that each year when I cut back my magnolia tree, it always grows back in a later season with more flowers than before. So nature tells me that when things look dead and cut off life can still come forth. In the cut back season the tree draws from water and nutrients in the soil which eventually brings about fresh growth. So in a place of loss we can choose to dig our roots deep into things that are nutrients for our souls. Digging deep for me includes praying, reading my Bible and singing songs to God - even when I don't feel like it. Digging deep also includes being kind to myself and accepting change.

Being kind to myself involves doing things that make me feel whole and alive. For example, going for walks by lakes are one of my favourite things - especially when it's sunny. I decided to visit a SPA for a day with a friend and get pampered. I also decided to join a free beginners ballroom dancing class to get me active and learning something new. I was doing old favourites and new things by myself and also with others. Connecting with people is good for the soul. I was choosing life and acting upon this. Sometimes it simply comes down to a choice to live and as you start to act on that decision the emotions begin to shift.

I knew there had been a shift when I walked to Cross Rhythms one morning past a building site pondering about how the old buildings had been knocked down and new buildings and pathways were emerging, which made the place look better and a builder shouted over to me 'why are you so smiley this time of the morning?'. I was excited that my smile had 'officially' returned! I was smiling and someone caught me at it! I replied that my smile was because Jesus loves me and continued my journey. A key in tough times is to continue journeying.

If things in your life are looking like rubble on a building site, choose life. Be kind to yourself and do some of your favourite things - try something new - enjoy nice scenery - pamper yourself - listen to uplifting music - mediate on encouraging words in the Bible - watch happy movies. You can't always restore a situation or loss, but you can choose for yourself to be restored. You can choose life for you. In doing this the builders are building something new in you. And if a situation gets restored that's an extra bonus.

God is my master builder and His building plans for us are for our good and welfare. He enjoys restoring and regenerating the rubble in our lives into things that bring new life. Building projects can be speedy and some take a while, so be easy on yourself while the finishing touches are being put in place. God likes it when you are kind to yourself because He is really into kindness. He is a kind God that desires to restore your soul and to make you smile. What small 'kind to yourself' thing could you do today to help to restore your smile? Or what kind thing could you do for someone else to restore their smile?