Smile...

With thanksgiving for Joyce - whose smile inspired us all

Yesterday, in Northampton, I attended the funeral service of one of my Sunday School teachers from years ago.  It was, for all sorts of reasons, a lovely occasion set within the context of loss.

Many uplifting aspects of her character were referred to in the service, yet it was the photos, being projected before the service, which struck a chord with me.  In everyone, even in her latter days in a wheelchair, she was smiling; and that’s exactly as I remember her, along with her inspirational teaching and wonderful example in Sunday School.  Indeed, a friend alongside me said, as we watched the photos, ‘you can almost hear her chuckle, can’t you?’, and I could!

I don’t want to over romanticise it, but a person’s smile seems to be something of a window into their soul.  It says so much, without words, about the essence of who we are.

Earlier this week I, along with other friends from church, sat alongside one of our members who is deep in Alzheimers.  It was deeply moving to be with her, and with those who visit her far more regularly than I.  Her mannerisms were much as I remember them from former days, yet the content of her conversation is now entirely without coherence.  However, her smile remains, and it can light up the room.  At those moments something of her very essence shines through and makes us glad.

As we read of those post-Easter appearances of Jesus greeting his disciples we can only imagine the scene.  I like to think of him greeting those vulnerable friends with a smile, welcoming them back into the fold and reassuring them for coming days.

Smiling – it’s a very precious way of communicating, and... 'Joyce - thank you for yours!'