ART BY PAUL T. BOECHER 2018 ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

The word “winsome” is not much in use these days. It means charming or delightful. Maybe there’s an explanation for words going obsolete or unused. For me, words are a necessity. They can enhance an article, a piece of poetry or a shorth story. They also give dimension to what you say. I also love old classic words like this. Perhaps because I’m basically a very nostalgic type of person. I love things from the 1700s through the early 1900s. This period in history was filled with glorious clothing for women. Yards and yards of expensive fabric were sewn (often by hand) into flowing skirts and bodices. Later, as pioneer women trudged along the Oregon Trail, their dresses were made of cotton, but remained long to protect their legs from nasty brush and insects. Still, they were hand-sewn. As time progressed, clothing was still made by hand, but fabric became more expensive and many lost the desire to sew.

With the advent of department stores, it became affordable to purchase readymade clothing. Fashion made a statement in those times. Today, less is better. Ripped jeans, t-shirts that are too short and pants that sit way below the waistline is today’s outlook on clothing. If I were to don a midriff hugging top and torn pants today, I’d be arrested for indecent exposure. Of course, I’m not a teenager anymore, so they’d have every right to arrest me.

Winsome can also mean optimistic, bright and cheerful. Those words have not appeared much in our current vocabulary. What’s going on? It seems to me that the world is showing itself as anything but charming or delightful. Our youth are led to their own “devices” and those cheerful smiles have turned into unemotional faces. We’ve lost our ability to communicate face to face with the invention of technology and artificial intelligence.

I don’t want to turn this post into a rant but having spent my working years as a teacher of drama and public speaking, I feel sad because those things have slowly edged out skills that we used to depend on for interaction, communication, problem solving and getting to know each other. So, getting back to “winsome.” What if each one of us made an effort to be so today. You may get some strange looks. You might even be avoided. The point is to show others the enjoyment involved in being winsome. Smiles need to return to faces. We must begin to look forward instead of back. Though things may look hopeless we still have access to the One who created smiles, light, enjoyment, comfort, memories, nostalgia, happiness and all the positive emotions that keep us sane. Put on a happy and winsome face. Turn to the One who has so much love that He gave the greatest sacrifice ever for everyone.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!