There are certain movies that are “must sees” for me and my
family each Christmas season. One of
those for our family is the modern classic “Elf” with Will Ferrell as Buddy the
elf. There are so many memorable lines
in that movie. Lines like, “You did it,
you did it, you made the world’s best cup of coffee” or “You’re not Santa,
you’re a liar..fake Santa, fake Santa!”
Another favorite line that Buddy delivers is “I love smiling..smiling’s
my favorite!”
Buddy just might be on to something with the “smiling thing.” Recently, while on a business trip, some
co-workers and I found ourselves in a small Asian restaurant near the Virginia
countryside. We ducked in for a fast
lunch with plans to quickly be back on the road. We were greeted by a tiny middle aged Asian
lady named Sarah with bright eyes and a smile that lit up the room. Sarah was not only the hostess, she was also
the waitress and chef. When Sarah served the meals,
refilled tea glasses and picked up our plates, she maintained that sweet smile
that had greeted us at the door. It
wasn’t a fake smile either. Sarah was
genuinely happy to meet us, took pride in preparing a meal for us, and with a
smile on her face, she wished us safe travels as we left.
When we left the restaurant and we continued on our way,
everyone in our group commented on what a great stop that had been. The food, of course was tasty, but the thing
that people kept mentioning was how kind and happy Sarah had been. A couple of us even said we were in better
moods after having that meal with Sarah.
All by itself, Sarah’s smile had lifted the spirits of some tired
travelers and left us better for having met her.
Sarah will probably never read this devotional and will
never know the impact she had on us that day.
But, my hope is that through sharing this story with others, we can all
learn a lesson from Sarah. Each of us
knows a distinct group of people. These
people have issues in their lives like cancer, death, marital problems, job
loss, and others. Sometimes a simple
smile is all that is needed to brighten the day of these people in your life. You may never know the impact your smile will
have, but smile anyway. Take Sarah’s
example and try smiling a little more often during the ordinary interactions
you have with others throughout your day.
You might just find that the person’s day you brighten the most will be
your very own!
