Articles
Sing And Be Happy Today!
As we rolled five-year-old Mary into the MRI room, I tried to imagine what she must be
feeling. She had suffered a stroke that left half of her body paralyzed and had been hospitalized
for treatment of a brain tumor.
She went into the MRI without the slightest protest. At that time, each imaging sequence
required the patient to remain perfectly still for about five minutes. This would have been
difficult for anyone - and certainly for a five- year-old. We were taking an image of her head, so
any movement of her face, including talking, would result in image distortion.
About two minutes into the first sequence, we noticed on the monitor that Mary’s mouth
was moving. We heard a muted voice over the intercom. We halted the exam and gently
reminded Mary not to talk. She was smiling and promised not to talk.
We reset the machine and started over. Once again we saw her facial movements and heard
her voice faintly, but not what she was saying. Everyone was becoming a little impatient with
Mary. We went back in and slid Mary out of the machine. Once again, she looked at us with her
crooked smile. The technologist, said, “Mary, you were talking again, and that causes blurry
pictures.” Mary’s smile remained as she replied, “I wasn’t talking. I was singing. You said no
talking, not no singing.” We looked at each other, feeling a little silly. “What were you singing?”
someone asked. “Jesus Loves Me,” came the reply. “I always sing Jesus Loves Me when I’m
happy.” Everyone in the room was speechless. Happy? How could this little girl be happy?
Many times since that day, when feeling stressed, unhappy, or dissatisfied with some part of
my life, I have thought of Mary, and have felt both humbled and inspired. Her example made me
see that happiness is a marvelous gift—free to anyone willing to accept it. “Rejoice evermore”
(1 Thess. 5:16). ~ Author Unknown (edited for space); Central church of Christ, Bastrop, LA
