Happy Self-Love Sunday!
It’s Labor Day weekend! Happy early Labor Day. I wonder if you all have been patiently waiting for this weekend like I have. Working an 8 am – 5 pm is NO joke, so any and every break is appealing lol. But don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my job. Anyways, I am thoroughly excited for this week because I have something exciting coming. I will be posting on Wednesday, so make sure you check back in! And this exciting thing has given me much reason to smile & I hope it does the same for you.

How many of you have had moments when you could literally find no reason to smile? When it seems as if all the joy and happiness was sucked out of your life? Well, I promise you are not alone. We have all had moments where it seems as if all odds are against us. But these are the moments in which we need to embrace our happiness and joy even more. Because there are so many more reasons to SMILE than to succumb to any and every thing else.

On Saturday, I was listening to my gospel playlist as I cleaned my apartment. Jonathan McReynold’s – Smile began to play. This is a song that I love, but often I skip over it in the car because I’m not in the mood for it. However, I let it play this time and it was like I was listening to it for the first time. The words hit me on another level. The bridge and chorus really struck me the most this time. The lyrics are as follows:
I can’t help but smile
Cause I realize what You’ve done for me
All those battles You’ve won for me
And that someday soon You will come for me

I can’t help but sing
Cause you already gave me the victory
And no pain, and no hurt and no misery
Can take away my smile
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
No pain, no hurt, and no misery can take away my smile. Whew! How many of y’all felt those words just now?

Recently, it feels like I’ve been succumbing to every reason to not smile. Instead of being optimistic and hopeful, I have been just rolling with the punches, even if that means losing my smile. And yes, of course I’ve had moments in which I’ve embraced happiness. But realistically, my smile hasn’t been like it should or used to be. It hasn’t been reflective of me. And what is truly mind blowing is that I am so thankful and grateful for so many things and these things all give me reason to smile. However, it’s like all these wonderful things drift out of my mind the moment a “crisis” or situation occurs.

I’ve been spending more and more time with God and I feel like this song couldn’t have been more on time than it was! Friday, I went to my alma mater and ran into so many of my friends, which was lovely. And as I drove back to my new side of town, I had plenty of time to think. I’ve been allowing myself to focus on negativities instead of the positive. I’ve been so busy with work and adjusting to my work schedule, I haven’t had time to just be still. So as I drove, I was completely still. My mind was free and reflective. I reminisced on beautiful memories, blessings, and the opportunities to come. It’s all scary, unfamiliar, and exciting! But somehow, the scary and unfamiliar have consumed my thoughts. I know that all things will work out the way that they should and need to according to God’s will. However, when life hits you fast, it can be hard to remember that. I am choosing to stop trying to be in control and put my trust in the man above. So I am ready to be free and smile at any and every thing I can, every opportunity I get. 

You never know how much your smile could make someone’s day. It could literally be a small act of kindness that helps them get through a terrible time or remind them that not all people suck.

Today, I challenge you all to be still and smile. Things may be bad, but they could be worse. There are people in way worse conditions than us. I know people say that all the time, but it’s so true. And even though there may be 100 reasons to not smile or be happy, there are 101 and more to smile and embrace happiness. Which are you choosing today? Will you let this world define how you feel? Or will you take control and choose happiness? Will you choose to be a light in a sometimes dim and dark world? Because I want my smile to be so contagious that so many others are influenced to smile and overcome whatever is bothering them. Let your faith cause you to do nothing else but smile, in spite of every circumstance. It’s your choice & I hope you choose to smile today!