I am sure you have heard the song “God Has Smiled on Me” by James Cleveland. I would hear it on the radio and in church. I thought about this song the other day while talking with a girlfriend about all the carefree and adventurous stuff we used to do as young folks. Ooh wee. I know now that God’s smiling on us was protection…is still protection.
The discussion started with a mention of the craziness in the world because I was watching crime TV. Several episodes of various shows were about people who went missing and eventually were found deceased after meeting new people and going out with them. I thought about being in graduate school in Ann Arbor, Michigan and attending a party with Black law students. A girlfriend, Denise, and I met two guys, and they invited us to go skiing the next day. We accepted the invitation. We had never seen these men before, did not know them from a can of paint and yet, we went away with them for a day trip to learn to ski and have fun. This was in the late 80s before we had cell phones or pagers…at least we didn’t. I don’t even remember telling anyone where we were going. While telling that story, it dawned on me that “God has smiled on me”. Thank God. “God has smiled on me. He’s been good to me.”
I then thought about how we used to attend parties because someone mentioned that aa party was happening. Again, not knowing anyone there, we would show up, have fun, and just believe that we would be safe from harm and danger. We always went with a friend or two with no care in the world. Again, thinking back, it just reminded me that “God has smiled on me.” So many young people attend parties and events now and end up being drugged, hurt, missing, and/or killed.
Think of all the times you just missed being in accident or not being somewhere when that tree fell. Think of all the times you left home and made it back safely. Think of the times you sent your children to school, to camp, or to a neighbor’s house, and they came home happy with no hurt, harm or danger inflicted upon them. That was God smiling on you and them. “Everything I need, He sends it down from up above.”
Yes, God has smiled on me. God has smiled on us. Contributor Pamela E. Bowles. Pamela is a daughter, sister, mother, friend and speech-language pathologist. Pamela loves family, friendship, fashion, beaches, movies, and Howard University
