She always said, “Keep your chin up.”
Gladys laughed with a raspy voice, followed by a round of high-pitched chuckles. I didn’t mind the cigarette smoke because she always greeted me with a warm smile. Little did I know how our relationship would grow over the years.
I first knew Gladys when I was sixteen when she needed me to drive her to the city for a post-surgery doctor’s appointment. Her family had moved in next door a couple of months before.
Soon, her daughters and I became fast friends, spending many evenings singing along to the Carpenters’ cassette tapes. If I knocked on their door at mealtime, they always pulled up an extra chair for their “OD” (oldest daughter).
My adopted mama always found time for me, and I spent more time at her house than mine. She never judged and was quick to hear and slow to speak. No matter what I was going through—and no matter my emotional ups and downs or disappointments—she was there. She knew the right thing to say and not to say.
Knowing my spirits were low, she often said, “Keep your chin up.” Don’t be down. Don’t let this get the best of you; look up, be strong, and move forward. We support you. Gladys didn’t say all those things, but I knew what she meant.
The night I left home, I gave them all an emotional goodbye, and Gladys gave me a key to their house. “Keep your chin up,” she said. Weeks after I started college, my adopted mama was with me in the college financial aid office, trying to get help for me to stay in school and telling me to keep my chin up. And after I married, moved out of state, had problems, and endured a difficult pregnancy, she sent me letters of encouragement and showed up on my doorstep twice.
God said something similar to Joshua: Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
God doesn’t want us to lose heart when we pass through struggles. “Keep your chin up,” He says. Then He assures us He is with us and will be faithful as He encourages us to be strong and courageous.
What are some steps you can take to keep your chin up?
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Karen Huffaker is now a breakthrough freelance Christian writer after working many years writing and editing in the corporate/legal world. She has taught children’s Sunday school and single mom’s Bible studies and written poetry. She is from the deep South and loves reading Christian books, devotionals, genealogy adventures, fishing, and all things family. She is also passionate about her grandchildren’s sporting events.