Happy Hearts. Happy Faces.

"Happy Faces!"

While taking a break from my duties as the official photographer at an annual luncheon,  I sat down to talk with a man and his wife I've come to know. 

Since I've never seen him when he wasn't smiling, even when I wasn't pointing my camera in his direction, I said to her, "Does he smile all the time?" 

"Yes, he does! It's a joy to be married to him."

In addition to his beautiful smile, his eyes sparkle like those of a young child opening the best gift ever. Thus, it's a pleasure to be in his presence. 

I wish I'd asked him his secret, but I'm assuming that the answer is found in the Bible: "A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance" (Proverbs 15:13, NKJV).

And there is definitely a direct link between the heart and the face, just as there is between the heart and the words we say and the actions we take. 

As a photographer, I notice details in faces, but not just physical features such as the shape, the skin, the eyes, etc. I also notice the expression on each face, for the expression is an indicator of what's going on in that person's mind and heart. Is he or she troubled? Tense? Angry? Defiant? Bored? Kind? Inquisitive? Confident?

Most of us can manage to smile when a camera is aimed at us, but what kind of expressions do we have when we're not being photographed? Those expressions speak volumes about the kind of person we are. 

With or Without Wrinkles!

I was dumbfounded when I read about a woman who—for 40 years—refused to laugh—or even smile! I was even more flabbergasted when I read why. (Brace yourself, Dear Reader.) She wanted to avoid getting wrinkles around her eyes and lips!

Oh, I thought, the lengths some people go to in order to hide the effects of aging! But aging is inevitable. Take a look at the rich and famous—who have access to all sorts of anti-aging potions and procedures. Even so, “old age” impacts them, too. Their skin wrinkles, their voices quaver, their spines curve, their muscles atrophy….as ours do.

We certainly should take proper care of our bodies and try to look our best. But if we hyperfocus on the externals, it’s all too easy to lose sight of the things that are eternal and, therefore, fail to pay much, if any, attention to them.

Dear Reader, may you and I make choices based on God’s Word, which repeatedly reminds us that what’s going on on the inside of us is far more important than what’s going on on the outside. 

For example: 1 Peter 3:2, NLT, says, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”

A person with such a spirit is beautiful--with or without wrinkles--and a joy to be around! 

Happy Heart. Happy Face

Since childhood, I’ve known the song that says, “If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it.”

I was reminded of that recently when I photographed children attending an event in our community. A few were “glum chums.” Others wore bland expressions. But some had such a radiance on their sweet faces that I was immediately drawn to them. They made my job easy, for I didn’t even have to try to coax a smile out of them. All I had to do was take the picture!

Regretfully, I failed to ask permission to post their pictures here. But if I could post them, you’d immediately see the HUGE difference a genuine smile makes. The eyes light up. The face is relaxed. There’s a warmth and a gentleness on it, which is so appealing.

So, I’ll post two photos: one of my Daddy, taken many years ago; and one I took of myself recently while seated near a window in our dining room. Like Daddy, I have a perpetual smile. Like him, I have a glad heart, even when life isn’t one big happy, happy. And, as the song says, the inner happiness (and joy, gladness, cheerfulness) shows up on the face.

A glad heart makes a cheerful face….

~Proverbs 15:13, ESV