I was in a neighborhood store when a stranger smiled at me.

It was a beautiful smile full of happiness and warm greetings.

Here it was early in the morning and she was smiling brightly. You can’t imagine how that smile affected me. It made me feel happy, it made me feel like we had a connection.

I was so taken by her smile that I returned her a smile with one that was just as bright and full of warmth. After she passed by, I eventually saw another lady and I gave her the same bright smile the previous woman gave me. She saw my smile and in return, she smiled.

A smile is like a boomerang, it can go from one person to the next, brightening someone’s day. A smile takes so little effort but can have such a big effect on people. A smile says so much without saying anything.

It can mean “Hello” or “Nice to see you” or “Hope you are having a nice day” or depending on the situation it may say “You can make it” and “Everything will be all right.”

Have you noticed how you feel happy when a child looks at you and smiles? Their little faces light up and you can feel the love emanating from inside.

The stranger started a chain reaction without knowing that her smile had brighten my day. She had no idea that her smile would cause me to write a column about our five-second encounter, but that’s how powerful a smile can be.

I love smiling and usually I’m a happy person but like anyone, sometimes I need a smile to let me know that “no matter what I am facing, today is going to be a great day!” So keep smiling and letting your light shine, you never know what kind of effect it will have on someone’s day.

Have a blessed day in Jesus.

Mary Simmons is a columnist for The K-V Dispatch. She can be reached at ABoxofloveKVD.org.