Worth a mile to get a smile!

It is worth the mile that you walked by their side, when you bring a smile to someones heart! (Micah 6:8)-He has shown you , O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. It becomes so worth the effort and sacrifice to walk beside someone, especially when you see God's lesson of life for you.

The reason being, one day it could be you that needs a smile, or someone just to walk with you on your journey. Coming into a place of loneliness was never God's intention for us. Doing it all by ourselves was not either. First and foremost, we always have Him by our side, and secondly, even when we do not see it right away, He has put that one special person there also.

It is not until we walk in someones shoes, as the expression goes, that we learn to appreciate a smiling heart. It is not until we see, as we exhort and encourage, instead of correct and direct someone, that  we really understand the journey a person may be traveling. Just the right time, as you are holding their hand and walking by their side, that a warmth overwhelms you.

Going to the Sunday Breakfast Mission is just such a place to experience this type of smiling. Not what we may have to offer them, but what they do for us when we are genuine. When we are not there to pity or feel sorry for them, but just love them in Jesus. A warmth greets you as you walk through the door as they light up with smiles, call your name, and greet you with a hug!

That is when you realize the walk was worth the journey. It is then you understand by humility, the phrase, walking in their shoes, because it come alive by their reaching out to you. Their encouraging words to you, when you have come to encourage them. Wow what a reversal of roles, what a change of plans God has in His time and His way!

It is only when you are humbly willing to walk beside, instead of ahead or behind, that we come to understand the rewards of a smile. The warmth that comes along with that smile, because you were willing to put on another persons shoes for a time. To walk for a while in the discomfort that comes with shoes that may not fit because that is exactly what God did for you!