A Hundred Reasons to Cry or Smile by Betty Mason Arthurs

 

I love to stare at this photo of my grandson, Preston, and the family dog, Ella, who sleeps with him each night. Like most dogs, she’s a goofy friend whose energetic play brings smiles and laughter to all of us. Who can be sad around golden-doodle Ella?

However, there are times when life’s problems become overwhelming. I don’t know about you, but I often cry when someone loses a precious child. It brings back the grief of when my husband and I lost two of our baby sons. When I listen to the news where another disaster has claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people from an earth quake in a poverty stricken country; I feel so helpless but I can pray. There are a hundred reasons to cry.

Thanks to the scripture found in James 5:11, we know that God is full of compassion and mercy. I always  remember that tears are a language He understands. He also asks us to “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NIV). Facebook posts this week, from family members I haven’t seen in years, ask prayer for a cousin who almost died and needed heart bypasses. Thanks to the posting, it shares instant information so I can send a note of concern and tell them I will pray. That’s the beauty of  social media. In a few days my cousin was on the road to recovery.

Yes, there are a multitude of reasons for each of us to cry, but a bookmark from New Beginnings Greeting Card Collection put it this way:

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile. (Author unknown)

And I would add, thousands of prayers to pray…and thousands of laughs with a dog like Ella.

Do you pray when you read of a need on social media? Have you felt comforted when Facebook friends tell you that they’re praying for you?

Do you have a pet? How do they add smiles to your life every day?