One Person, Every Day

A couple weeks ago I purchased this lovely set of notecards. They are nothing fancy, a Kmart special... But my intention was to send one person a HAND WRITTEN note each week. In the social media filled world we live in, with text messaging over phone calls, etc... the personal touch seems lost. I know how great it is to get one of those hand written notes from someone. It can make your day.
Well, I've sent out two, and today I was reminded of how important it is to take the few seconds a day to make someone else's day.

I've tried to impress on my kids since they were young that they need to say "Hi" to someone new each day. A kid at school, in their class that they don't know, someone walking down the hallway, etc... for us adults, maybe it's having that chatty conversation with the checkout girl at Walmart, instead of being to rushed to say hello. Maybe it's stopping at our neighbors to make sure all is well... Maybe it's picking up the phone and telling someone you hope they have a good day. Or, maybe it's dropping a real note in the mail, lunch box, wherever and telling someone you are glad they are in your life.

So many people rush through this life, too busy to connect with the people they walk past. How many times have you walked past someone without making eye contact because you didn't want to say "Hi"? How many times have you heard someone was having a rough time but figured it was none of your business? I'm not saying you have to get all the gory details, but drop a note and say "I'm thinking of you."

I know I'm at fault of doing all of the above. There are days the chatty checkout girl drives me insane, but really... she's there for 8 hours while people pay for their groceries and don't even SEE her. It literally breaks my heart to think about how many people and lives I've missed impacting by not taking those few seconds to care. I don't have to become best friends with the checkout girl, but I DO have treat her as a person. As someone who matters in this world. Every person we walk past is fighting some battle, would one person smiling at them change the course of their day? Their week?

You've heard about the power of a smile right?

How many times have we been guilty of this with our own family and friends? How many times have the kids come home and you are rushing around getting dinner and you didn't take the time to ask, "How was your day?" How many times have you fallen in bed at night, exhausted, and fell asleep without telling your spouse, "I love you."

Simple words, that mean a lot. Simple actions that take very few seconds of our day. Try it. Tonight after work when you are busy with your errands and picking kids up from school, when you would normally walk right past someone, make eye contact, say hello. give them a smile.

I'm giving myself a new goal. I'm going to try a bring a smile to one new person a day. Whether it's at the gas station, the post office, the grocery store, the school... wherever I might be. I'm going to take the extra few seconds to go out of my busy life and give a pleasant hello to some stranger. I'm also going to make a better attempt to connect with those people in my own life. Mostly my family, but also my friends.

I challenge you all to do the same. Make an impact, make a difference, give a smile - to one person, every day. Not only will you be sharing your smile, but you will also be changing your own life as well.

Matthew 25:40 

"'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, 

you did for me.'"