Having a Happy heart in an Unhappy Day January 17, 2009

19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.
Psalm 68:3 (New International Version)

3 But may the righteous be glad
and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
Proverbs 15:13 (New International Version)
13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful,
but heartache crushes the spirit.
So today, I wanted to share an insight I had. On today’s episode of Little House on the Prairie, Laura had to write an essay and present it to the class and all the parents. She chose to write her essay on her mother. In reading it, she had written that her mother was the “Last smile I see each day and the only smile I want to wake up to in the morning.”
Wow, do my kids think of me that way?
So today I was in thought over that very question? Some days seem so frantic and so overwhelming that I wonder if my own Happy Heart is shining through. I must say “You are not having a happy heart” to Logan at least 50 times a day. I must also say, “Obedience with a Right Heart attitude” at least 10 times a day to Aaron. So here I am wondering if in the midst of all my chores and lists, do they see me smile? Do they see me do my own work with the Right Heart Attitude? When I am flustered and tired and they are requiring something else of me do I answer with a Happy heart?
I confess that my attitudes are often times very yucky. I get testy and impatient and snappy. We can fill our children with all the words and truths we want but the only way to understand them is to see them lived. I can tell a person how to drive all I want. I can have them memorize the book but unless they physically are inside of the car experiencing it, will they ever really learn?
I need to shine the LOVE of Christ to my children through my smile! I need to have a Happy Heart even on Unhappy days! They have got to see in me that my circumstances do not control my reactions. I must, as much as possible, portray to them, that which I expect them to learn! Oh Lord, give me a happy heart! Let my smile in the morning and the last smile at night beam to them your light and love and give the security of hope in only YOU!