Smile!

He was the age of retirement when I worked with him.  He was a hard worker as most were of his generation.  He had a small farm and had worked at a grocery store for many years in the small town I was born and reared near.  He attended my local church, a small, white, country church located on a dirt road several miles from any town.  Years earlier, he had been a school teacher in a one room school house.  He was in our church a Bible scholar not from seminary classes but from many hours of study in the Word of God and many days of walking with God.  When you had a question, you would go to him and ask.

He was a short man and life was complicated by a physical challenge of one leg being shorter than the other.  He walked with a limp and with a shoe built up several inches on the sole to even out his awkward gait.  Those days of walking while working at the grocery store must have caused many a pain, as I now realize since getting older myself.  He certainly had reasons to complain but I never saw it.  In fact, I remember this wonderful saint of God as always having a smile.  It was an infectious smile.  It seemed to permeate the atmosphere of his existence and would simply surround him like a cloud.  In his presence there was always words of encouragement and joy.  Even that last time I saw him, as I visited his home, his health fading but that smile and joy still present.  I remember our conversation and the encouragement he gave this young preacher on that day.

When you look back at people you have known, some memories are like a sweet perfume wafting through the atmosphere of your mind.  When I think of Clark, a smile comes on my face.  I remember his joy in the Lord, joy that only comes from being with God for the Bible speaks of that fact that in the presence of God there is fullness of joy.  Clark lived and died without shaking the world nor traveling the world.  I doubt if he ever traveled far from home.  Yet, he did impact all those around him.  As a young man, his daily example in my life made quite a difference.  In a world where so many profess to know God and do not live it, He did!  Impact, yes!  He not only served in the local church and was faithful to God making an impact while he lived, his impact lives on, in my mind, after all these years.  This morning, when I thought of him, a smile came on my face.

You want to live well and make a lasting impact?  Then live out the joy of the Lord daily in your life.  Others are watching and perhaps there is a young boy watching you, that you can impact by your smile and joyful attitude.