Have you ever smiled at the camera when you were dying on the inside?  How about in the hallway? When you pass someone at church do you smile a big ol’ grin just to hide the truth on the inside?

I have.  I did this for years.  No one was the wiser(well most people) to the pain that was drowning me.  But I smiled through it and when I look back on those smiles they look different, I can see right past them and today I wonder…is there anyone in my life that is smiling while dying inside? 

Is your smile fake?  I would like to say that I can help.  I know I can’t fix everything and actually I can’t FIX most things but I might just have something that you need or a word of encouragement that will get you to the next step.  I might know the way out from behind that fake smile of yours.  If that’s you, please contact me and lets have coffee or tea or lunch or just a quick phone call. 

My smile is real now.

    

I found a way out from behind the fake smile, I had time to allow the Lord to repair my heart and my smile came back.  There is a difference you know

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These pictures are taken 5 years apart.  You can see the freedom and rest and peace in that woman’s face on the right.  You can see there is nothing to hide.  Fake smiles look like smiles but you can see that there is something behind the pearly white teeth..a secret. sadness.

This weekend my family and I went crabbing.  I sat and watched the ocean, for hours.

Something about the rhythm of the waves and the consistency of God’s great design that brings you back to your core.  It resets your fast paced life and leads you to a place of remembrance of God’s glory and His testimony in your life.  We smiled all weekend long.

Please don’t get me wrong…I don’t always smile.  As a matter of fact, you can ask my husband, I have the freedom not to smile and he is ok with it.  Well, he prefers a smile but he understands there are days when I may not have one and he helps me find it again.  I don’t have to fake it. 

I don’t know why I’m so fascinated by the smiles in my life or even why it continues to surprise me that God does things like ‘restores smiles’ but He does.  My family is a testament and those were not empty words when I offered to help you find yours again.  I think I just found my new calling in life…woman who leads others to find their smile.  Take a risk and take me up on my offer.  Send me a note or leave your email below.  I know how to find your smile again!