A couple of days ago, Jim and I were on our usual morning walk. Part of our walk takes us along a busy railroad track. The tracks often hustle with Amtraks that zip by with passengers peering out the windows. Freight trains move slower with long loads of oil and coal.  We say to each other, “Let’s wave to the engineer!” Sometimes he acknowledges our wave with a wave back, but on Monday when we each gave a vigorous wave, he rewarded us with two short beeps in the familiar triple tone whistle. I was as excited as though I’d hit the jackpot. He honked! We smiled for the remainder of our walk.  

Often in early evening, we stroll our front and back yard to check new growth, pull a few stray weeds, admire our plantings. “Look here,” I might say, “The Hyacinth has another bloom!” 

Jim says, “That’s great!” With true excitement in his voice. That makes me smile. Joint joy in simple things. But what happened next really made us smile. 

We finished “inspecting”  the front yard and turned to walk into the house when right above our heads, a bald eagle slowly wheeled his wings through the skies, most likely looking for prey. He was low enough we KNEW he was an eagle. His white head and tail assured us he was our national bird, the Bald Eagle. Big smile!

I thought about those brief stretches of smile moments that produced bits of joy into my life. All of them were part of God’s creation. The human encounter with the train whistle. The beauty of a flower. The soar of an eagle. 

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31 NIV).

That eagle soared confidently in the air with scarcely a ripple of his wings. God is an awesome Creator!

Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all splendor was dressed like one of these (Luke 12:27 NIV).

…their glory is like the flowers of the field (Isaiah 40:6b NIV).

Human contact is a beautiful thing. A smile lifts our spirits. A touch brings joy. And the train whistle? It makes our hearts beat faster. 

What makes you smile? Let the little things bring you a smile.