“Smile and the whole world smiles back at you.” Anonymous

Sometimes just smiling at someone can make their day…and yours too in the process.

My heart goes out to elderly folks when I see them alone. I can’t help but wonder if they have lost their spouse after a lifetime of being together.

One day, while pushing my cart up an aisle in a grocery store, I saw an elderly man pushing his cart down the opposite side of the aisle. As our carts slowly approached one another, my heart went out to him instantly and I thought to myself, I’m going to make eye contact with him and smile, so that he will know that someone ‘saw’ him today. I softly said a prayer asking God to make me a blessing to that man, and as we were about to pass one another, I made sure to look his way and smile; I nodded my head and said “Hello”. Upon which, he abruptly stopped his cart, and said with gusto, “You, young lady, have the most beautiful smile. Thank you for making my day.” Whoa! I did not expect that. It startled me for a second. I thought to myself, Oh my. What have I done? But that simple, free act of kindness, that choice to be a blessing to him, from a true heart of compassion, in turn, instantly became a blessing to me. Him calling me “young lady”, well, that was just blessing upon blessing.

No doubt I was a blessing to him. He said, “Thanks for making my day.” But I was so blessed, that I had tears running down my cheeks the rest of the way up the aisle. It didn’t cost me a dime and only took two seconds of my time, but look what happened; not one, but two people were blessed in that grocery store aisle that day. And me, probably more than he.

Scientific research has shown that smiling releases endorphins and serotonin in the body; both of which have to do with “feel good hormones”. So even if you’re going through a difficult time right now, choosing to smile is not only good for someone else, it’s good for you.

“A glad heart makes a cheerful face…” [Proverbs 15:13]

Make it your mission to simply smile at someone today!

Lisa Hannan lives in Valdosta with her husband, Attorney Miles Hannan, who has been practicing law in Valdosta for over thirty years. They have a daughter who is an ER/RN in Augusta, GA and a wonderful son-in-law named Thomas. Lisa has a B.S. in psychology from Valdosta State University, a love of art and a passion for telling others about Jesus. You can find her at www.lisahannan.org