You have the most beautiful smile 你笑得很美

A few years ago when I was working in the Corporate America, I managed my two rental properties on the side. My work was stressful and I was on call all the time. In that company, when you are on call , you do get called quite a bit, day and night. My rental properties are in a good neighborhood so there are not too many problems other than the regular maintenance of older houses.

One time, my tenant moved out and the house needed a lot of cleaning/repairs etc. I'm not handy by any means and usually I use hired help. But that time, I could not find anyone to clean house over the weekend and there was a new tenant lined up to move in on Monday. I was on call the night before and very tired on Saturday morning. I had no other choice but to put on my paint shirt/sweat pants, tied up my hair, picked up my bucket of cleaning supplies and off I went to clean house. After a few hours, I was almost done and decided to meet my friend for lunch at Cracker Barrel. I remember I was very tired but somehow I was able to carry a conversation with some laughter in between. Towards the end of our conversation when we were ready to leave, an older African American lady suddenly came up to our table, greeted me with a big grin on her face and said, "You have the most beautiful smile." And then she left, just as sudden as she came up to me. My friend and I looked at each other and puzzled. Out of hundreds of people in the restaurant, why would she pick me out to say that? Really, a totally unflattering Asian woman with no make up, fancy hairdo or glamorous clothing. Why did she say that? She might be doing some kind of random act of kindness but whatever it is, her comment lifted my sagging spirit. I was thinking to myself, God must have sent her to cheer me up on a gloomy day. She is an angel!

A few years have passed. I have no corporate job, no friend, no family. I spend my life in Nashville by myself. But till today, I still remember the lady's face, her grin and her saying, "You have the most beautiful smile." Sometimes when I'm feeling low, I think of her and I know God is right here to cheer me up on another gloomy day.