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Joy
By LaTan Murphy
1 Thessalonians 5:16: "Be joyful always; pray continually."
Her teeth were rotten and broken down to the gum. Her happy grin spread across her tiny face. She had such a twinkle in her eye. This little girl was a happy soul, so full of joy. Her hair was pulled back in the center of her head and neatly clipped with a small barrette, her head cocked to one side, shoulders lifted up toward her chin with a grin that would say she was the happiest little girl in the world.
Then, the teacher held the picture high in the air so that everyone was sure to get a glance. Laughter filled the room as some twenty-four children and one teacher cackled together in brutal harmony. They giggled and sneered and looked my way.
I folded my arms just in time for my little head to fall into the cradle they had created. I wished to hide and so I did hide my face in the hallow space between the desktop and my folded arms. I felt such shame and sadness, tears falling down in total humiliation. For the first time in my short life, I was embarrassed of my smile, and so from that day forward, I vowed not to smile in another school picture again. And, I didn't until five years later in my eighth grade picture.
I recall that day from time to time. In some strange way, I am perhaps even thankful that it happened. It taught me at a very young age what it meant to be hurt, what it felt like to be made fun of; so I vowed I would try very hard not to make someone else feel that way. We can be better because of persecution, not worse. It is a choice we must make. We can choose to be BITTER or BETTER because of the situations and circumstances we face in our lives.
My joy was robbed because of someone else's wrongdoing. I allowed it to ultimately change the way I felt around people for many years. I didn't want to smile wide enough for my rotten little teeth to show ever again.
Whose wrongdoing have you allowed to rob your joy? Maybe it is a hurt so deep that you feel you may never be the same again. Give that hurt to the Father. Allow Him to restore you anew. He has the power to do it. Allow Him to fill you with joy unspeakable. No one can take that kind of joy away. He wants to take the brokenness and sadness away forever and give you back your smile again. It will not happen overnight, but in time, it will happen. It surely will happen, and when it does, your joy will burst forth in a way you never thought possible. When this healing comes, the rest of the world may continue to laugh, but it will not affect you in the same way, for your confidence will be in Him. Those rotten areas of your life (your circumstances or past sins) will not have power over you ever again. So, jump for joy and smile---real big!
La-Tan Murphy: Popular speaker and singer at Christian Women's events. A Freelance artist. Runs her own business, Interior Elegance, as an interior decorating consultant.
www.latanmurphy.com
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