HAPPINESS

As we go about our daily lives, we are generally in the same circle most of the time.  What I mean by The Same Circle is that most of our lives we are in the same neighborhood, the same stores and part of town and work.  There are probably a few thousand people in a large circle of our lives. Many we know and most we don’t BUT, stop and think of how many times you have been to, let’s just say, Walmart, and have seen the same faces many times over and over through the years yet we don’t even know most of them.  I realized that since I drive to school every day at the same time, I am seeing the same cars and faces almost every day during my commute and then at school all the same faces and in the neighborhood I live in. I could go on and on but I want to ask you to just stop and think for a minute about each of those circles.  In each one there is at least one person that you never see smile. Now think about it just a bit more. At least one of those people you do know. Maybe not well but you know enough that they drive a nice car and live in a nice house and in all appearances have no reason not to be happy and smiling.

 

Let me give you an example.  I was working at Shriners Hospital.  I worked the graveyard shift mostly at the lobby front desk.  Every morning at about 5:45 this young nurse about 25 yrs. old would come in.  I had always made it a practice to greet people coming in with a GOOD MORNING!!  Mostly I got a good morning back but not from this young man. He just frowned and kept walking without even a nod or a smile.  The other security officer I worked with had been there 3 years. Longer than me and he told me that this young man never said a word or smiled when he came in to work.  I have no idea but I decided I was in some way going to get a smile from this guy. I made it a point to get to know his name and as time went on, I met his wife and daughter and found they had a nice house and a good life with no problems.  I had to ask myself then why wouldn’t this man be smiling. It appeared he pretty much had everything a man could want. It took almost 2 years but finally as I told him good morning one day he nodded and smiled and then a few days later he answered me with a good morning and it wasn’t long and he was telling me good morning before I could say it to him.  I never got to know this young man very well so really have no idea why he seemed so down. Was it just he wasn’t a morning person or was it that he was unhappy about something? I guess I will never know.

 

Why am I saying all this, you ask?  1 Thessalonian 5: 16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”   We as Christians are commanded by God to turn our bad times over to Him and be happy.  That is telling me to smile and live life fully.

 

I know some of you are saying that you are happy with your life but I ask you this.  If a stranger looks at you as you pass in Walmart or on a street, do they see that you are happy?  Is the joy of knowing Jesus shining from you as you go through life? You see a smile is such an easy thing to give to another person.  It takes just a split second and even if you don’t get a smile back, you have lost nothing. Think about it. You will never run out of smiles.  You could give a thousand smiles a day out and for each one you give, God will replace it with another to give to someone else. It has also been scientifically proven that every time you smile you are also brightening your own life and your own health so giving a smile benefits you in three ways.  Four, is you count that God is happy with you for bringing a smile to others and maybe making their life just a bit better.

 

I sincerely believe that if you smile at someone, you have made their life just as bit better even if you don’t get them to smile.  Imagine if 100 people passed that smile on to the same person. It would have to make them feel something. I ask one other thing from you as you go through your day, okay I am asking two things.  First give many thanks to God for giving you love and forgiveness so you can smile. Two when you smile, show that glow also with your eyes. Let God’s light shine with your eyes.