Repellant

I slather myself with mosquito repellant every evening…they love eating my ankles, and boy do I smell lovely! :). It works and they stay away. How many of us do the same with repelling people? We coat ourselves in an odor of “untouchable” and “unapproachable”…and then wonder why no one will talk to us. We walk around with a sour expression that lets people know that we might bite!! Our facial expressions and negative body language are some of the biggest inhibitors in our lives. Quite often we don’t even see it ourselves. It has just become who we are…a natural human repellant!

I have been out in public with people that look so cranky that I am actually embarrassed to be out with them. And I know it happens on my face too. When I was a flight attendant I knew that I had to have the “perma grin” on my face. Eventually it got too hard for me…and there came a day when I asked a passenger if he would like anything else, and he said “a smile would be nice”!!!! That comment has never left my memory. It came right to the point…a smile is always nice! How often we snarl instead. Or just look unapproachable.

My mother is my role model in this endeavor. Whenever I am out with her, she smiles at everyone!! She makes an effort to be nice and say hello. (When I was a teenager I was mortified! Haha) It is so nice to see all types of people lighting up and saying hello back. I now try to do the same thing. At least a smile and a thank you is important. Just to let the person know that you see and acknowledge them. Everyone out there wants to be seen. They want to be thanked. We don’t know what is going on in the life of the cashier at the supermarket…but maybe, just maybe seeing your smile and hearing a thank you might be the only positive experience they have that day, or week.

Let’s be the light that reflects Christ’s love for His creation. Next time you’re in the store or gas station…give someone a smile, and see them light up!!