Braceface

“Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life.”  -Jeanne Calment

While many of my friends got their braces off in high school, I was just getting mine on as I started my freshman year of college.  The thought of what people thought of me made me so insecure that I consequently refrained from smiling in pictures for fear of being called “braceface.”  Many times I missed out on smiling because my imagination got the best of me, but the reality was that I was embarrassed and had no reason to be!  Now I realize that even without braces there will always be reasons not to smile, but there are hundreds if not thousands of reasons to smile.  For whatever reason we can become so engrossed in our “problems” that we miss out on life's moments to smile.  So smile and don’t stop. 

God bless you and keep you, God SMILE on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper (Numbers 6:24-26, MSG).