Pearly Whites

Yep, my mouth hurts. I haven't smiled this much in one day... maybe ever. Today, I helped my mom run her booth at an art show to display her awesome stained glass clocks. I think it was a great show, and Mom did pretty well selling her stuff. I was there to smile and talk to people and praise the clocks and make people want to buy them. I think I did a pretty good job, but for real, people... three hours into it, and I had mouth pain. My cheeks hurt, my lips hurt, even my tongue hurt. I don't think that's ever happened before.

It made me wonder... is my mouth so used to not smiling for six hours in a row that it causes pain? Am I not a smiler? I like to think that I'm a nice person, at least with strangers. I'm pretty intentional about being nice to cashiers and servers and toll booth ticket-takers and anyone who might not get kind interaction on a regular basis. (I haven't quite extended to telemarketers yet, but I'm working on it.) Anyway, I hate to think that I can't smile for six hours without doing awkward facial-stretching exercises.

Smiling is such a big deal to me. It's one of my favorite things about my husband. It makes me feel approachable to people. It's a way to encourage others without much effort. More than that though, I want it to communicate that there's something bigger in me that causes joy. I have a fabulous reason for smiling, a reason I want others to experience. I have Jesus living in me, and that's why I want to smile. Most of the time, that's why I do smile. And I don't remember those smiles causing pain.

So maybe at my mom's next show, I should think again about why I'm smiling. It doesn't have to be fake and just because I'm trying to sell clocks. Jesus is in me all the time, and He loves everyone He sees. That means I need to love on everyone I see, and that all starts with a smile.