A Friendly Face

Her father had lost his beloved wife of decades only a short time before and she expected to find him downcast when she went to visit him in the facility where they had both lived for several years. Instead, he seemed quite encouraged and eager to tell her about what had been happening. Although he was grieving, he had set a goal for himself. “Every day I make it a point to smile at people and then see how many people I can get to actually smile back. And then I keep track of that to encourage myself to do it again the next day!”

As my friend told me about her father, I was so encouraged. Here was a man in his nineties who was grieving deeply and could easily have given in to despair. But instead, he had decided that he would be generous with his smiles and see if he could in fact, change the disposition of others around him. I was so challenged as my friend shared this story about her father that I wondered what would happen if I too did that in my daily life.

What if instead of being absorbed by everything that was happening in my life, I tried instead to focus more on the people I met and shared a smile with them. What would happen? To the cashier at the grocery store, I smiled instead of complaining about the ever-increasing price of the food. When walking the trails every morning, I looked at people and smiled instead of looking away or looking at the ground. I made it a goal to see how many days of smiles it would take for some of the more hesitant to actually smile back.

When someone actually shared this verse in Genesis 33:10 about my personality, I secretly smiled! I wanted my friendly smile to reflect the face of God and let people know that there is hope in this world - there was a reason to smile, even in the midst of life’s darkest moments. And by being generous with my smiles, I could perhaps bring a little bit of gladness into the lives of others.

Being generous can take very many different forms in our lives. We usually think first about being generous with our money, but we can also be generous with our possessions, our time, our homes and yes, even with our smiles. As believers we are admonished to be generous in every aspect of our lives. It is good to periodically take time to think about and evaluate what our lives are reflecting.

Where is God asking you to be more generous? You may or not have the means to give more financially, but every one of us has a smile to give and share with others. Perhaps you too will have someone say about you, “What a relief to see your friendly smile! It is like seeing the face of God!” – Genesis 33:10

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your incredible faithfulness to me. You have been so, so good in every aspect of my life. Help me to share that goodness with others today and let it begin with a smile. Amen

Throughout this Day: Intentionality changes our lives but it can also change the lives of others. How can you be generous with your smiles today?