I arrived to pick up my dry cleaning this evening and noticed that the lady behind the counter was smiling one of those contagious smiles as she waited on the man ahead of me. He left without speaking to her.
I stepped forward and gave the lady my claim ticket. She happily retrieved my clothes. I considered not saying anything more than thank you, but I felt prompted to ask her about the reason for her smile.
"You seem really happy," I finally said.
"Oh, yes! I happy all the time!" (She continued to smile as she spoke.)
"I wish I could be happy all the time," I caught myself saying.
"I happy because I read Buble," she says. I guess the mispronunciation made me have a confused look on my face because she quickly walked over and pointed to her open Bible.
I'm reading through the chronological Bible right now, and my curiosity got the best of me. So I had to ask, "What chapter are you reading?"
"Genesis," she said while continuing to beam.
"Me, too. I'm looking forward to finishing it tomorrow." She nodded as I left.
As I put my clothes in the car, I couldn't help but wonder how many people that lady has inspired, all because of her sweet smile and her willingness to give the Reason for it.
Father God, as I go about my day, please help my countenance to reflect joy and contentment so that I may point others to You. Thank you for putting this woman in my path today as a gentle reminder of how my heart longs to change and look more like Yours.
5 comments:
"Father God, as I go about my day, please help my countenance to reflect joy and contentment so that I may point others to You."
I think you'd be surprised, Alyssa. You may not feel "happy" all the time, but I have a feeling when others look at you, they do sense the sweetness and joy that comes only from God.
Keep smiling!
--r
Bits -
this is precious. Love it. I'm in Genesis right now, as you know, and what an amazing, crazy account. And Renae is right - you do pass on such Joy. You are a treasure. And I'm inspired by your dry cleaning lady!
What an incredible encounter. How easy it is to get run down by what life throws at us. If we could all be like this lady and find joy in simply reading His Word what a different world this might be.
That was a great story and certainly convicted me!!
So true! If we could all be such an inspiration, or even just share a kind word with a stranger, think of what this world could be!
Renae, TJ, Robyn, & Kris - I still think about this lady daily. She's been such an inspiration!
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