Nan stood at the window one winter day watching the wind whipping the pine trees. The cold rain had sneaked in the night before. Early that morning, she had struggled to get out of bed as the extreme cold and dampness wreaked havoc on her joints.
At the post office, everyone seemed to feel as she did. No one smiled, and everyone seemed to be struggling through the day. She decided then and there to at least change her own outlook. She smiled—not a forced smile, but a caring smile that radiated the love of God. For some, she whispered a “flash prayer” that their day would be blessed by the Heavenly Father.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 JOHN 4:11-12
As she went about her day, her smiles brought blessings from God in the form of a grandmother who rushed to her side to share a funny story, a man who asked her opinion on which handbag to buy for his wife, and the boy who allowed her to take his place in the express lane.
Nan remembered how a smile began a friendship with a young grocery-store bagger with Downs syndrome. One winter day, with snow clouds slung low across the sky, the young man carried her groceries to her car. Digging in her purse for a tip, she was embarrassed when she found she had nothing to give him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, not wanting to disappoint the young man.
A smile as bright as the summer sun spread across his face. “That’s OK,” he said. Then he wrapped his arms around her. “I love you,” he said. Shivering in the cold, she whispered a “flash prayer” for this special child of God. “Lord, bless this precious child,” she whispered.
Sometimes the most unexpected encounters can teach us a lesson in humility, but the greatest lesson in humility is found in Jesus Christ.46 Tonight, whisper a “flash prayer” for someone you saw today.
As it is the business of tailors
to make clothes and of cobblers
to mend shoes, so it is the
business of Christians to pray.
MARTIN LUTHER