ONE day a women crossing a certain station was stopped by an old man, who said: “Excuse me, ma’am, but I want to thank you for something.”
“Thank me,” exclaimed the woman.
“Yes, ma’am. I used to be ticket collector at B., and whenever you used to go by you always gave me a cheerful smile and good morning. You do not know what a difference it made to me. Wet or fine it was always the same, and I thought to myself, I wonder where she gets that smile; one cannot be always happy, yet she seems to be, and I knew that smile came from the inside.
“Then one morning you came by with a little Bible in your hand. I said to myself, perhaps that is where she gets her smile. As I went home that night I bought a Bible, and have been reading it, and have found Christ: now I can smile, too, and I want to thank you.”
For Thou exceedest all the fame
Our ears have ever heard;
How happy we who know Thy name,
And trust Thy faithful Word.
ML 06/18/1933