DAY 130
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
Week Nineteen – Wednesday 22 July 2020
“When in Doubt, Just Assume I’m Smiling”
“I miss smiling because it’s one of the handiest utensils in the communication drawer and my mask has locked it away….Trying to interact with other humans without being able to smile is the facial equivalent of communicating via text message; it’s easy to be misunderstood … . As mask use stretches on, people may rely more on the context of a situation to tell them how to interpret an interaction … . There is good evidence that smiling naturally has some effect on your ambient emotional state. In other words, masks may be making us more remorseful.” - Recent news magazine article by the same name
On the very infrequent forays I make outside our house I find that any limited interaction involves my feeling awkward for an unexpected reason: I am a smiler, and it marks most of my interactions with others. I had never given any thought to this until the pandemic and mask wearing became the norm, and thus I haven’t realized how much I have depended on my smile to complete my transactions with others. I have actually begun to be aware that I am not smiling as much – why bother when it can’t be seen anyway. This in turn is having a subtle psychological effect on me.
In the mystery of how God has constructed us smiling is natural, infants and toddlers engaging in it regularly without a clue as to what it is they are doing. But life can be difficult, and the smiles of toddlerhood often give way to the sadness of reality. I have seen this in the faces of many adults. I have also seen indescribable smiles on the faces of individuals in whom the Lord has done a deep work of freeing and healing, an experiencing of what 1 Peter 1:8 describes: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” “…joy unspeakable and full of glory,” the KJV says. Thus the contents of our hearts show up in our facial expressions, not only our mouths but also our eyes speaking of what is within us. I miss my smile, hidden behind a mask. But even though you cannot see it, “just assume I’m smiling.”
Reflective question: What is the status of your heart out of which comes your smile?
Reflective Scripture: Proverbs 15:13 - “A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face …” - The Message
Reflective hymn: “Joy Unspeakable” –
I have found His grace is all complete, He supplieth every need;
While I sit and learn at Jesus’ feet, I am free, yes free indeed.
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory, full of glory, full of glory;
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory, and the half has never yet been told.
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