Dormitories are the environments where the best and the worst are likely to be seen. I went to Bible school immediately after high school. I tried to avoid morning classes if at all possible, but someone had to take them. There are two classmates that stand out to me all these years later.

Sharon was perpetually late to class. She wore shoes with wooden heels. She ran down the tiled hallway in an effort to make up for her tardiness. No one slept past her class time.

Leah woke up cheerful and full of song. She started singing when she left her room to go to the bathroom to shower and continued until she was leaving the dorm for her class. No one slept past her class time.

²⁰Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound.

Proverbes 25:20

¹⁴A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!

Proverbs 27:14

Knowing when to smile, extend a cheerful greeting or be exuberant is a learned skill. Too much of something is….too much!

Slow down today and take the temperature of the people around you. Someone might be dying for a smile; someone else might need a quiet presence but no words. Be the holy presence someone needs!