"Today give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."
- Quoted in P.S. I Love You
"Smiling is infectious,
You can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me,
And I started smiling too." - Author Unknown
"A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life's worthwhile." -Author Unknown
Today was a Retreat from the Street day! I love those days. Every time I feel like I learn something new. For example: I got to meet Charles, who was struggling with something and we were able to talk about it. Then during lunch I was with Shamar. Shamar has a type of disability and was talking/cussing while he was eating his lunch. Eating with Shamar helped me realize just how much I love my job. We just finished reading a book called Living Gently in a Violent World, where we are all meant to love one another no matter the disability or "weakness" that one may have. Shamar was just one example where I saw God shining through him because throughout the entire time that he was speaking to himself he was mentioning Jesus and God and that (whoever he was talking to) shouldn't act that way in Jesus' house. I thought that was Shamar's way of saying that he does acknowledge God. This reminded me of the book because Vanier talks about the foundation of L'Arche and how sometimes we are just meant to suffer with one another... That's what I did with Shamar. I was with him and tried talking to him and even though he might not have heard me, I knew he knew that I was there. How do you ask? Because he mentioned me while he was talking to his "friend". So today I would like to pray for Shamar. I pray that he remains with God and for people to always have patience with everyone because you never know just what one smile might accomplish.
Jenny Sample
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