THE PAIN HIDDEN BEHIND HER SMILE

Woman hiding under the happy mask. Hypocritical, insincere, two-faced female

To everyone she meets, whether friend or stranger, the young woman offers a pleasant smile. It would be easy to assume she has a contented life with no worries and no sorrows. She doesn’t reveal the pain she carries inside every single day, dealing with an unexpected tragedy. If one is to ask her, “How are you?” she’d say, “Fine,” a conditioned response. But nothing could be further from the truth. Years have passed since the day her world imploded, but her grief lingers, festering like a sore that will never heal. Gradually it takes away pieces of her heart. Her family knows what others don’t see behind her pretty smile, but they feel at a loss to offer help. After all, no one can undo the horror. No one can fix what has happened. All anyone can do is hope for better days and the healing power of God and time.
I have heard the young woman admit she hides her sorrow because she doesn’t want to make others feel sad, and she doesn’t want their pity. Prayers, yes. Pity, no.
Have you ever thought about how many types of smiles there are? There are genuine smiles, happy smiles, phony smiles, smug smiles, warm smiles, polite smiles, to name a few. But many times, a smile is nothing more than a pleasant response to acknowledge another’s presence. We all have had sadness and loss in our lives. As they say, it is not so much what has happened to us but how we deal with it.
Maybe we are not aware of the pain behind another’s smile. No matter, we smile back. We never know when our smile, our love, our prayers can work wonders for another person. Author and motivational speaker, Leo Buscaglia said, “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”