The cold and flu season is upon us once again. Remember the dreaded “swine flu”? During that particular flu season, so many people were “under the weather” and the term “H1N1” became a new part of our daily vocabulary. It seemed as though you couldn’t turn on the news or hear a conversation without hearing that term. We actually experienced some of that in our own house as well. In the midst of that time, Callie battled with a cold and fever that lasted for about a week. It broke my heart to see her so sick. Callie brings such joy to our home! She is so full of life and loves to sing and write stories. One thing she enjoys, is to give us all sweet notes and beautiful pieces of art that she creates. On the back of every note she gives, she puts her trademark, “You Make Me Smile!” with a big smiley face! She is our little encourager! When she first developed her fever, she immediately got quiet and just wanted to lie around. Well, anyone who knows her well understands that this is not normal behavior for her. I took her temperature and sure enough it was 101. I gave her medicine and within an hour she was back to herself. Smiling with those big dimples and just being Callie. As the medicine would wear off, she would feel bad again. This went on for quite a while. As long as she had medicine, she felt great, but when it would wear off, she felt awful again until finally she was over it. That medicine was a wonderful thing!
I started to think about the people we encounter on a daily basis. We have those people around us that are always cheerful and have such joy that you just love being around them. It is contagious! Then you have the people that just always seem to be miserable. They can’t find a positive thing to say and everything appears to be gloomy. Grumbling and complaining just seem to seep out of their pores. They are the “glass is half empty” kind of people. You almost want to go the other way when you see them coming or go crawl in a hole and have a good cry after you have spoken with them.
Proverbs 17:22 says, “ A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
What kind of person do you want to be? Do you want to be good medicine or do you want to dry up bones? Well I want to have the cheerful heart that is medicine to the soul, of course. I want to be an encourager; I want everyone around me to see the love of Christ and to know that whatever the future holds, we have the joy of the Lord, because he is in control. That is what makes my heart cheerful! I, in no way, want to be a complaining presence to those around me. Life is a beautiful gift from God and is to be celebrated! Then we get to give him all the praise and glory for it!
Just as the medicine Callie took brought her relief, our cheerful hearts can be just the dose of good medicine that so many hurting people need. I want to continue that contagious spirit of God’s love and marvel in seeing the Great Physician heal those that are hurting!
Have a cheerful week!
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