Monday, March 6, 2023

“Give Someone A Smile Today!”

 

Ah! The second Monday of Lent and already we’re trying to force a smile!

That’s what I felt like recently when a friend told me to smile. I was experiencing a challenging day and I’m guessing it was obvious. They told me to smile. “Yeah, right,” I thought to myself.

When we’re unhappy and someone tries to make us smile, it feels like someone placing a key lime pie in the middle of the table, but we can’t enjoy a slice until we eat all the vegetables on our plate. Even then, those of us who gave up sweets for Lent still must wait for Easter before we can indulge. “Gee, thanks a lot!”

Mondays aren’t always the easiest day for folks. Sometimes, Monday is difficult because we played too hard on the weekend. At other times, Monday is rough because we worked too hard on the weekend. Either way, the funk is there and there’s not much we can do about it.

But, Behold! I have discovered the solution to a gloomy Monday: Give a smile to someone else! That’s right; if we can’t manage our smile, the next best thing is to give a smile to someone else. Just think, if everyone on earth gave a smile to someone else, almost the whole could be transformed in an instant!

What a concept! Give a little joy to someone else and maybe their joy – or at least, the recognition that we had something to do with their joy – can rub off a little on us. If there’s a Nobel Prize in my future for this amazing discovery, I promise to give everyone else credit. That way, if I’m still in a Monday funk on Tuesday – when everyone else is happy – I can at least admit that I helped to change the world. (Maybe then, I can have my pie and eat it, too.)

Give a Smile to Someone Today!

“A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.” (Proverbs 15:30, NLT)

Lent Devotion/Challenge Calendar

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