Smile...it's spring time!

So today I decided to read from "Around the Campfire" a devotional for sportsmen.  It is actually one of my husband's devotional books; however, I love the outdoors! I love fishing, camping, hiking, and just being outdoors even if it is just to take a walk. Nature, sunlight, warm weather makes me so happy and cheerful! I love how beautiful God created our world! It doesn't matter where I go out of town, I am always amazed with my surroundings and God's creation! I love it! And now with the warm weather and so much sunlight lately, I can't help but take advantage of being outdoors.  First, shroom hunting and walks and now fishing and baseball games...I love the spring!!!! Anyways I was reading this devotional and read Psalms 15:13, "Happiness makes a person smile, but sadness can break a person's spirit."  Reading this verse reminded me of when I was back in high school, and we had a sub for our AP English class. I remember her reading to our class a poem.  It was a very emotional, somewhat sad poem.  It was about a girl sitting on a bench that no one noticed.  They never stopped to say hi or to ask how her day was or to even give a smile.  I don't remember exactly how the poem went; however, I do remember the reasoning behind why she read this poem to us.   I remember several of the other students in my class laughed at the poem and said this girl should have said hi to others or gotten up and stopped feeling sorry for herself, etc.  I remember feeling sorry for this girl....thinking how I wished I could have walked by her and said hello.  After discussing this poem and why we thought it was written our teacher went on to tell us she had written this poem describing how she felt while she was in high school. I couldn't believe it! After all the negative comments made, it was by our teacher.  Now she didn't write it so we could feel sorry for her.  We all loved having her as a teacher! She was very influential and down to earth, but taught us a lot and made us think.  She's the teacher that made me love writing! I enjoyed every paper I had to write in that class! She read this poem to us to make us aware of all those students within our high school that were students like her.  She wanted us to be aware of how others feel.  I remember getting out of that lesson that a smile goes a long way...a simple hello could make a person's day.  Isn't it crazy how we get so caught up in our world, we don't take the time to stop and say hello to an old friend or give a smile to an elderly person as we  walk into the store or say thank you to the cashier in the check out line.  I know, I am usually really shy and have troubles starting a conversation with a stranger; however, I do know I can give a smile to someone walking next to me or I can say thank you to the cashier, etc.  Just think our smile may be the only Jesus some people may ever see.  Give a smile, a simple hello or thank you the next time you are at a store...you never know maybe you may plant a seed.