The Power of a Smile

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started on his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man sitting in the park staring at the pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his can of root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

Gratefully, the man accepted it and smiled at the boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he gave him a root beer.

Courtesy Google.com

Again the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling but never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and got up to leave. Before he took more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back, and gave the old man a hug. The old man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother, seeing the look of joy on his face, asked, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"

"I had lunch with God," he said. "And you know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen."

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." Then he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

This story reminds me of a poem my grandmother, Florence L. Personeus, wrote years ago that I included in my book, Frontiers of Faith:

Just a Smile

It was only a smile and a wave of the hand,

As the giver hastened away,

But it cheered and brightened a heart that was sad

At the close of a weary day.

A smile often comes like a ray of sunlight

Sent from Heaven to us here below;

'Twill bring joy in return, to scatter bright smiles,

For we reap whatever we sow.

If we only knew how a little smile

Might cheer the heart of another,

How it strengthens them to struggle on,

We would smile just to help each other.

For those bright, cheery smiles that come and go

Flash sunshine on Life's thorny way,

And the good they can do not one of us knows,

So let's scatter smiles every day.

                                                           --Florence L. Personeus

                           

We often underestimate the power of a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, or the smallest act of caring, but they have the power to turn a life around. And when You do it for one of God's children, you are doing it for Him.

Who did you smile at today?