How easy it is to just say the glass is half empty, as we tap on the table with our fingertips waiting on the waitress to refill it before we wind up sucking on the ice cubes to quench our thirst. Is it really that difficult to enjoy the flavor of what we have and be thankful for the ice bonus waiting at the bottom while we wait?I was out this afternoon running errands and grocery shopping with my daughter, and I caught myself observing my surroundings. While doing my grocery shopping at our (somewhat) local 'Super Walmart', everyone around me seemed so rushed, annoyed, and unhappy. As one person would pass the next, it was as if they were passing their stresses and irritations back and forth to one another. I found myself looking for someone that actually had at least a half smile on their face. Surely life isn't that bad for everyone out there!
Of course there was a parking lot full of nice cars; quite a few people were dressed as though they recently got out of work in nice skirts, slacks, and accessories; carts around me were full, which meant the wallet must contain enough to cover the purchases; beautiful healthy children bounced around the ankles of parents scanning the shelves... so, needs were met, but still not one happy face in the bunch. Then it hit me... I have something to smile about, but how many of them truly do?!
I wound up in the checkout line with my cart of groceries before I saw the first smile since walking through the doors... a little girl, probably three or four, with the cutest curly pigtails popping out of her head, sitting in the front of the cart that her mother was filling back up with bagged groceries. The little girl just stared at me as I waited my turn, the most beautiful smile on her face that I found myself staring at her with a returning smile... and I just stood there in front of her, locked into a trance of smile sharing. How innocent, for this little tot to reach out with a smile, unaware of any and every problem adults allow to seep in, stealing their joy. Behind her smile there was nothing that showed how many toys she had, what kind of home she lived in, what type of car her parents drove, how many friends she had waiting to play with her on the playground: it was just simple joy that was contagiously drawing me in the share it with her.
How often do we let life's everyday circumstances or thoughts on our mind draw us in, concentrating solely on such, distracting us from letting such a simple smile reveal the priceless joy we're storing within, one that should be shared with the world around us! We all have our mixed share of bills, homes in need of cleaning and/or repair, mail to respond to, gas tanks to fill, errands to run, distant family members, health conditions, etc, etc... but wouldn't all that still be there regardless of whether we smile or get lost in all of that and allow it to ruin the day for ourselves and those around us?
I want to be the difference. Thank God I have a car to get me to and fro! Thank God I can get to the grocery store to buy the groceries my family needs to fill their bellies! Thank God I have hands to write a response to the mail waiting to be sent out! Thank God for the roof above my head, regardless of how quickly the messes appear within! That's the attitude I want to reveal while surrounded by so many people needing a difference in their lives. I'm striving to be that little girl in pigtails that makes people wonder how I'm walking around with a smile on my face regardless of any trials and burdens I may be facing that day... causing those around me to want the solution I have, that they have yet to meet. When others see me, I don't want them to see a to-do list having control over me, I want them to see the love of the Lord shining from the inside out.
We have to remember: attitudes are contagious... is yours worth catching?
