Make a Difference.

Everyone's head is down as she walks along the street. They are looking at their shoes, their phone, the sidewalk, or street signs; but if they are looking at her, they are usually judging her. They judge her for the way she walks or her age. They judge her for wearing bright, cheerful clothes and in the same breath judge her for wearing anything dark. She stood alone in front of her bathroom mirror hours earlier questioning her life. She wondered why she was here and asked herself if she was simply taking up space. Now, as she walks, she hears those same thoughts she heard that morning:

"You add nothing to society."

"You have no value to give."

"You are not seen, valued, or acknowledged."

"Why are you here."

She goes into the store and picks out food, but what if the food is bad for her. I mean,

if she doesn't have a purpose on earth,

if she added nothing to society,

if she is just floating around with no value,

Why try to take care of herself? What matters?

She goes about her day, trying to make it through the haze of life's choices and the judgment and hopelessness she is focused on.

She walks down the street with her bag of lettuce, canned beans, and carton of ice cream.

She looks up and surprisingly she sees someone looking back at her.

You meet the eyes of someone on the street and there is no judgment, condemnation, insecurities, or confusion, there is only joy.

There is joy that is radiating from their face, and all of a sudden it is not just her standing in front of the mirror looking at herself. Another face steps in, and she is not alone. Someone else took enough time to lift their eyes to hers. The most incredible part of this moment is the fact that they are smiling.

She then proceeds to walk past them wondering why it felt so good to see someone smile at her

.

Well, let me tell you why there was so much power in that smile.

Simply put:

No one gives something to someone or something that they think has no value.

Let me ask you: If you saw something that was totally worthless, added nothing to the world around us, took up space, was walked on, ignored, and a roadblock on your highway to a good life, would you invest your time, money, or resources into it?

Think about it for a moment.

My answer - No. I don't invest anything into something that is worthless.

See, we invest when we see Value.

The thing about a smile is it gives. Sometimes it is our pride that we give up when we smile. Sometimes it is our time we give up when we smile. Sometimes it is Joy that we give when we smile.

When you smile you are telling someone else, I see more in you than you see in yourself. I see value in you. You add to society.

When we smile at people, we are actively fighting the lies that they hear every day.

And that smile, when shared, creates a question:

Why did that resonate within me so strongly?

Who created me with value?

And the answer?

You were created with a purpose. You were created, and you are loved by the Creator of all. Even when you don't feel it or choose to ignore the fact that you were created by the God of the universe, you cannot take away the reality that "He loved us first... and nothing can separate us from that love" (1 John 4:19 & Romans 8:31-39).

Can that be communicated through a smile? Maybe not all of it, but a seed can be planted, and the process can be started.

So, if you want to make a difference in someone's life, start by smiling. Believe me, it is harder than you think.