| Proverbs 17:22 – “A merry heart does good like medicine.” |
I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t make a very good patient when I am sick. Mostly, I just want to be left alone and to take the medicine I know will help me feel better. But at the same time, I want someone around to check on me and show they care. When I was young, I was plagued with frequent throat infections and missed many days of school each year. My mother was a nurse and could recognize my symptoms easily, but our family doctor never believed her and insisted that I go to his office so he could look at my tonsils and say “yes, it’s her throat again, here is the usual medicine.” After just a few doses, I would be feeling better and begging to go back to school. The proper medicine was all I needed.
It’s the same way when you share a cheerful smile or friendly word with others. How many times has your spirit been lifted by a kind word from a stranger or someone holding the door for you when your arms were full of packages? Do you know someone who always seems to be positive and cheerful? I had a friend Mary Jo who was someone I could count on to cheer me up when I was low. She listened patiently, but more than that, she just seemed to know the right things to say to help me feel better. Her merry heart was good for my soul.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for the people you have put in my life to cheer me up when I am down and to refresh my weary soul. Help me to be that type of person to those around me. Amen.
– Betty Gossell
