It's My Pleasure

It seems the more time I spend at work, the more I enjoy seeking ways to brighten a person's day.
Even outside of Chick-fil-A.
For instance, the other day I went into the grocery store to get my weekly shopping done after I got out of work. (I love that Chick-fil-A is on the edge of the Meijer parking lot. Sooooo convenient!) And as I was going through check-out I had a very distinct urge to talk with my cashier.
Maybe it was the glum look on his face. I've had this man wait on me before in the check-out lane, and if I had to categorize him as a Winnie-the-Pooh character, he would definitely be Eeyore. Just sayin'.
Maybe it was the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Whichever it was, I felt compelled to act like I was still at work so I asked him, "How's your day going?"
And my poor friend, Eeyore, began bemoaning the fact that he'd been at work all day - and still had a couple of hours to go.
My effort to cheer him up with a comment intended to evoke brightness fell flat.
And he didn't bite on my next attempt.
So I changed my approach and shared with him that I understood feeling tired.
Told him I had reported for work at 6:30 that morning (It was around 3:00 at the time of our interaction.) and had come straight over to Meijer to get my shopping done. I might have said something like, "I feel your pain. But I trust you're going to make it through."
And then the craziest thing happened.
Eeyore and I shared a smile!!!
Like, seriously. Eeyore smiled!
And it was beautiful.
I mean, maybe he knew what I was doing and he was simply laughing at me for my hopelessly optimistic attempts to elicit a smile from him. Maybe that's it.
Or maybe he had an authentic spark of light in his soul for a moment.
Either way, I believe our brief interaction lifted his spirit - even for a minute - and I am so glad God allowed our paths to cross.

Is there someone like Eeyore in your life who needs help in finding a smile today?