Smiley Faith

The faith and love . . . spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven.

Colossians 1:5, NIV

Since sixth grade, I’ve been putting a smiley-face sun beside my name (see my signature on p. xii). You see, my teacher, Mrs. Medlock, used to put two dots and a smile by her name when she signed our papers. This simple gesture delighted me, so I just added a circle and a few sun rays, and adopted a new signature at eleven years of age. Oh, the influence of a teacher!

Over the years, my sweet family and friends have supplied me with quite a collection of smiley faces. When our daughter was three and on a shopping trip with my mom, they came home with a sunglasses case covered with smiley faces. Mama told me that Kali insisted on getting it for me, saying, “My mommy will love it!” What a treasure—my first tangible gift from my toddler.

One day years later, I was glancing through a notebook that had a big smiley face on the front, but I did not feel like smiling. It was rare that seeing a smiley face didn’t prompt a smile in my heart, if not on my face as well. But life was hard and felt hopeless at that time, and I was down in the dumps.

These were just feelings, of course. Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit, who helps us rise above our circumstances. By His prompting, right then and there I changed smiley face to smiley faith, based on Colossians 1:5: “The faith and love . . . spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven.”

Regardless of my feelings, I knew my troubles were temporary. A home in heaven awaits believers in Christ. As believers in Him, we can truly smile about the future while we’re waiting here on earth!

Next time you see a smiley face at a Wal-Mart or a gas station or wherever, think of smiley faith that springs from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven.