There they were. Dozens, maybe hundreds all crammed into a glass cage. Beaming brightly. Smiling generously. Yellow, black, full of bounce, and lighting up the world for one another.
As usual, we’d made our three-hour trek from Kansas City to Uncle Milan’s house in Lincoln, Nebraska, later in the evening, partially because of work and other commitments, but largely so that we’d have sleeping kids while traveling. A risk worth taking with this strategy, of course, is that your fully rested toddler will be bright eyed around six a.m. while you are still recalling having just crawled into bed.
Thus, I found myself in Uncle Milan’s kitchen at 6:01 or so looking for some breakfast option for my wide awake 3-year-old. But alas, Uncle Milan’s cupboards made Old Mother Hubbard’s look like a freshly stocked aisle at Hy-Vee. If we were to eat, we were to shop…which is how I came to meet Mr. Smiley Face that day.
At that stage of our life whenever dad and daughters went grocery shopping together, a super ball was bought. It was our thing. We had boxes of them. This particular morning, after breakfast supplies had been found and purchased, we started back for the van and to deliver our goods before others woke up. And then, Katie saw the super ball machine collections. “I want this one, dad,” she said. Who wouldn’t? They were so enticing. Vibrant yellow. Happy faces. Infectious smiles.
I had my quarters on board and soon Mr. Smiley Face – as we named him – was out of the cage and into our care. Little did we know how ready this little guy was to rock the world.
We returned back to feed the family and get ready for church. Unbeknownst to me, Mr. Smiley Face was being prepped to go too.
Uncle Milan’s church was a standard pavilion style with six sections, each facing towards and sloping down to the platform. We had a favorite spot … second section in, about three rows from the back for easy access to the bathrooms or a quick exit if attitudes and/or audio tones went askew. The service had been going a bit when Mr. Smiley Face made his appearance. I suggested to Katie that perhaps I could hold him for her until the end of the service but she said “no.” She had things “covered.”
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Smiley Face’s big journey began. I saw Katie quickly dart under the pew ahead and then look back up with a horrified look on her face. Then a kid dove to the ground in the pew ahead of us. And then one in the pew ahead of that. An adult made a quick stab toward the ground and the whole section quickly became mesmerized by what they had missed and what was unfolding row by row in front of them as kids dove, adults kicked out their feet and senior saints poked with their walking sticks. Mr. Smiley Face was on the move and kept bouncing onward. He was free, friendly, and out to make his mark on the world. In one short minute, he had spread more joy than the preacher had in the previous twenty-three.
And then, the preacher looked down at the floor below the podium, paused, and smiled. How could he not? Mr. Smiley Face’s yellow vibrance was that infectious.
I told Katie that we’d go down front after the service and get Mr. Smiley Face. As the pastor closed his prayer with an Amen, we learned that 30 or so kids, a couple adults, and Sister Mabel in her four wheel drive walker all had the same thought. Everyone wanted Mr. Smiley Face in their life and the race was on. I don’t know where Mr. Smiley Face landed, but I hope it was in hands that didn’t hold him long. He had so much to give, so much good news to share.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:15 – reading from the New Superball Version – don’t leave your smile stuck in a glass jail, get it out there for the world to see. Or, don’t only smile at the people just like you that congregate where you congregate each week. Adventure out. Take your smile and bounce and brighten your world.
Mr. Smiley Face’s first adventure turned a small world upside down that day. But when you think about it, he didn’t actually do anything special. He simply did what he was made to do … to bounce, smile infectiously, and create joy.
Perhaps spreading joy to a world desperately in need of it is that simple for us too. To just do what we were made to do. Get out there. Live Justly. Walk Humbly. Love Mercy. And Smile Infectiously as we Worship our God.