One day my teenage son was out shoveling snow from our sidewalk and driveway. I looked out the door to check on him and saw that he was talking to our neighbor, an elderly lady whom we had barely met or gotten to know in the several years we lived on that block. My first reaction was, "I'll bet she is driving him crazy, talking his head off out there in the cold."
Later when my son came into the house, I asked him what she wanted. "She said you smiled at her" came my son's reply. I thought this comment was strange. I smile at almost everyone I meet each day. I didn't know my smile would really have an effect on anyone."She said not many people smile at her these days," my son interjected, "and she wondered if we go to church." I asked my son what his answer to her was.
He said, "Yes, we go to church, every Sunday. Then she wanted me to quote her some scripture to prove to her that I go to church and study the Bible."
I was astounded with my son's next response. "I quoted to her, Matthew 19:19 about `love thy neighbor,' and then I went over and shoveled her driveway and sidewalk. She wants to know if we would take her to church with us next Sunday, because her car isn't working and it's too icy for her to walk anywhere."
My smile and my son's memorization of this scripture opened a new door and relationship with our neighbor, who within six months joined the Church.
Now I make certain I smile at every encounter, for you just never know where a smile will lead. A smile on the face makes a smile in the heart. And isn't that what loving one's neighbor is all about?