JOYFUL NO MATTER WHAT

I have some friends and a relative who are always cheerful no matter what is going on in their lives.  Several of them have cancer, but you would never know it when you talk to them.  They smile and do not complain.  You have to ask them to find out whether anything is wrong.  Even then they don’t dwell on any negativity.

One friend is a senior, but she still has little-girl energy.  She is always playful and making jokes.  She makes me laugh when I visit her.  You would never know how sick she is by her cheerful behavior.

It’s the same with my Aunt Marie.  I visited her last night.  She is seriously sick, but she smiled and never complained even though she was in some physical discomfort.

Thinking about it, I have never seen my Aunt Marie not smiling.  She has always been cheerful and pleasant, and she’s very pretty, too.  My Uncle Frank said that when he first saw her at a dance many years ago, he stared at her for about two hours before he built up the courage to ask her to dance.  “I had never seen such a beautiful woman!” he said.

Obviously Aunt Marie’s beauty is not only on the outside.  She and some friends have a joyful inner beauty that shines through no matter what.