You have probably seen a smile that made your day right? How about two days? A smile that is so nearly divine, ‘happy’ gets a new meaning. Well while I was out grocery shopping the other day, I received just such a smile. Not from my pastor (though he is a very nice guy) and not from an usher at church. Instead, it was from this very nifty dude who has worked outside the grocery store selling hotdogs. (He has been doing this for nearly a decade I have learned.)
After moving to this location a couple years ago, I noticed said fellow for his smile and always great music collection. No joke, going past his hotdog stand made me feel better and more satisfied than a morning coffee – free trade coffee even! It was something I could count on. Rain or shine, afternoon or night I could look forward to some new song, a good smell, and a truly great smile. The guy made you feel like it was his personal duty to make humanity feel better. Seriously! Then he disappeared. Flat out gone, he was. Every time thereafter I went to go get groceries I felt that something was missing... I wondered if some new legislation had driven this ray of sunshine off the area; I even considered going to the store manager and telling them that I, as a customer, appreciated him. Then my mind went to worse considerations... perhaps he was sick. Then as time progressed I gradually forgot about him. Until yesterday.
After an early morning walk in the park, I went to the grocery store to see if they had any sales on greens. I can usually always pick up some vegetables at 50% percent reduced price. As I stood in line and was getting nearer the till, this guy with long hair (just like Jesus’) and wearing yellow sunglasses gets in line with a case of cheap bottled water. And lo and behold, it’s the hotdog dude! I was thrilled. So we started talking. I expressed my hope that he was well, and asked if he had been pushed out of his place. He assured me that all was well, he was happy (like I need say it), and he had merely been relocated to another entrance. (I am not one to try something different and thus had never been to the other entrance.)
After leaving the store with a new bounce in my step – nearly literally – I couldn’t help but wonder if more Christian people were like him, what a better place the world would be. Not necessarily because everyone would suddenly believe in God, but because those of us who do would at least look happy about it. And make other people happy too. This lowly hotdog guy – God bless him – doesn’t go around giving out world solving solutions. But after seeing him again, it nearly felt as if he just had. Then it made me wonder how Jesus smiled, and how we as Christians (Christ... ians) are supposed to smile.
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