I SMILE

I SMILE
“All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?”
Paul McCartney, 1966

Too often I get the opportunity to go with my wife to the mall. It is always a lovely time with my wife, but a dreadful time at the mall. I really despise shopping. I know that most of you women don’t understand this; it’s just a guy thing. Shopping to me is knowing what you need in the store, going in and getting it, and then getting out as soon as possible. I know that is not my wife’s idea of shopping, so when I go with her, I spend a lot of time people watching. I could and do spend many hours just sitting in those big comfortable chairs in the mall walkways watching people while my wife shops. I start out looking at the height of different people. Are they tall? Are they short? Then I look at what they are wearing. I sometimes ask myself what they were thinking when they left the house that day. I often ask what the parents were thinking when their kids left home that day. Then I look at all the different hair styles. Is it straight or curly; short or long; spiky or flat; traditional or wild; neat or messy? I could spend almost all my time on this one area! I look at who they are with. Are they with friends, family, or by themselves?
I finally get to all the faces. What are their eyes saying about them? Are they smiling or are they frowning? Why are they smiling? Why are they frowning? I think about what could be going on in their life right at that moment that makes them look the way they do. I have to be totally honest, the more I look at people, I see a lot of lonely, sad people. Too many people go around with a long face. As I people watch, I see very few people with a smile on their face seeming happy to be alive. All this watching makes me think about my face. Am I showing to those that are watching me that I am happy and that I serve a God who brings me joy?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

When you smile at someone, that person can’t help but return the favor. It’s like turning on a bright light in a world threatened by darkness. Besides, you have good reason to walk around all the time with a smile on your face - not because of something you have done, but because of the undeniable truth that God loves you. As a result of His great love for you, God acted through Jesus to give you free and eternal salvation. That alone should certainly make you smile!

I smile when I think about
The way You've turned my life around
I smile when I think about
The happiness in You I've found
I'm so amazed at what Your love has done
And when I think the best is yet to come
I smile!
I smile!

Aaron Hodges