A Beautiful Smile...

I got on the bus after running for about 3 minutes to catch it, and while I was fumbling for my transfer, a lady standing near the door looked at me and said, "You have a beautiful smile!" I was taken aback, because my face was probably flushed from the exertion, and my huffing and puffing would have made any dragon proud. I definitely had not been expecting a compliment!

Another time on the bus, this lady came and sat down beside me. She had been rather loud and overly cheerful with the driver upon boarding, which made me wonder if she was a little bit developmentally challenged. I felt so awful for thinking that, however, when she pulled out her lottery stubs and started teaching me how to play bingo. She was just the friendliest of people, and here I was judging her before I even got to know her.

Last week, I was frightful because there was a man who was developmentally challenged sitting on the seat in front of me (and I hope I am saying this as politically correct as possible. Correct me if I'm wrong, Katie!) He was rocking back and forth, and I thought he was going to fall over. I was also concerned about what people thought of him. However, as I continued to watch him, I realized he was having the time of his life. Whenever the bus driver would move forward, he would rock back and forth like he was enjoying the simplicity of the ride that I had taken for granted.

I would love to have my own car. However, I know I would learn nothing about life from an empty backseat, whereas I learn so much from the people on the city bus. Thank you, Lord, for the little lessons you teach me through another person's beautiful smile!

Love,

Ashleigh