Family Faith and Fun Fridays: The Secret Smile Mission
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. -Hebrews 4:12
Welcome to Family Faith and Fun Fridays, Christmas Edition!
As the week winds down and I anticipate more family time over the weekend, I often ask God for one good idea that will enable me to bring the Word to life and bring our family together. Usually, the activity overflows out of something the Lord has been teaching me through the scriptures.
Are you ready for some family fun? We’d love to have you join us as we seek to fan the flames of faith and let the Word of Christ have the run of our house!
Secret Smile Spreaders
The idea came to me as I pushed my shopping cart through the WalMart parking lot.
I had just shared a conversation with a weary woman behind the cash register, and she had mumbled something about hating the holidays.
I’d asked her what would make this time of year better and she’d responded quite frankly: “It sure would be nice if people would just smile.”
I’d taken a quick glance around me….
An older man holding only a package of toilet paper and a carton of milk was grumbling loudly to his wife about the long lines and the slow checkers.
A mother with two rambunctious preschoolers was piling wrapping paper on the check-out counter and grousing on her cell-phone to an unseen confidante about how she hadn’t been able to find anything on her list today.
And a businessman with his head buried in a text message looked up only long enough to give the cashier a glare as the line he was standing in slowed to a stand still when she called for a price check on the overhead speaker system….
“It sure would be nice if people would just smile.”
As I buckled my chattering ones in the van and headed home to unload our groceries, I couldn’t help but be discouraged by the all-too-visible-reality of this season of cheer and goodwill.
And I wondered what would happen if we who know the SOURCE of true joy would make it our mission to smile our way through Advent.
What small spark of hope could we spread simply by upturning our lips and letting the Light of the World shine through our eyes.
Our to-do lists may loom large and the shopping lines may linger long.
Our kids may be over-sugared and our calendars overstuffed.
But despite all of the holiday stresses,
we have reason to SMILE.
The One whose birth we celebrate this season offers us life, life, and more life! (John 10:10)
When we got home from that routine shopping trip, I pulled out a few button magnets and a strip of metallic smiley face stickers.
I turned those plain black magnets into shiny grins and printed out a simple message of Christmas cheer: ‘Tis the season of joy! SMILE and pass it on.
Then, I invited the kids to join me in a mission to be Secret Smile Spreaders. So we’re carrying our simple smiles wherever we go, and we’re hoping to turn a few frowns upside down as we leave a trail of goodwill in our wake.
Whether we’re walking through our small town’s stores or breezing through the library, we’re leaving a shiny smile in place of the stress and frowns.
If we spot someone who looks downcast or just plain crabby, we just stick a smiling magnet where it can be easily found.And then we say a prayer for the recipient of our simple gift and we trust that God will place our humble smile in the hands of someone who just needs an extra splash of cheer.
We pray that the he or she will experience the best smile of all this season, the smile that flows from the heart of a Father who loved the world so much that He sent His only son….. (John 3:16)
Why are you
down in the dumps, dear soul?
down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
He puts a smile my face.
Soon I’ll be praising again.
He’s my God.
(Psalm 42:5, The Message)
What’s your favorite way to spread smiles during this Christmas season?
Leave us a comment so we can grin together!
Leave us a comment so we can grin together!
Grrat article. I’m experiencing many oof these issues ass well..
Alicia – as your writings usually do, this really spoke to me – and convicted me. I have noticed several unhappy people in the stores. And – then I stop to think about how joyful I am when shopping, especially when I get the longest check-out line again. This was a great reminder. Thanks for the encouragement.
Oh, Krista, I love the teacher gifting… we were just talking at breakfast about when my older ones played “secret santa” with their teachers and they were convinced their teachers had NO IDEA who was leaving gifts. I think those dear ladies were just marvelous actresses! I may need to get my younger ones in on the fun at school, too. Great idea!
And, Kelli, I think spreading some smiles in your new town is the perfect way to leave your mark this Christmas. Much love to you and your family, friend.
My daughter is reading your idea over my shoulder and we are plotting to make it reality in our home!! Thanks for this inspiration, Alicia!
Love you, friend!
Great idea, Alicia! I love it! Our kids are having fun blessing their teachers by secretly leaving a gift on their desks each day for the 12 school days leading up to Christmas break. It is so cute to hear their stories of how they were able to make the “drop off” undetected! Of course, the big smiles when their teachers ask who the gifts are from are probably dead give aways! 🙂