86. STAIRCASES

Lest in descending we reach our ending

* At the end of the workday, sometimes I just want to go immediately from my fourth floor office to my car. But it is importantly to not make the trip all at once. In a way, staircases allow me to take advantage of gravity gradually.
* I could, I suppose, take the elevator. But when I was a freshman in college, I broke my ankle and had to use the elevator many times and grew to despise it. After a few weeks, even with crutches, I was using the stairs.
* As an alternative to a staircase, I might use a parachute jump. But then how would I get back up? I guess that I would need a large and powerful trampoline.

85. SMILING AT STRANGERS

To share some joy with one unknown reminds us that we're not alone

* Thanks to Katie, who inspired this simple miracle. A few weeks ago she gave me a copy of Sarah McColl's "101 Small Pleasures you can enjoy every day" and its #44 made me smile.
* Regularly, I am amazed that when I smile at someone that I don't know, they smile back widely in return. "Who is this person?" I might wonder. "Have they been waiting all day for someone to smile at them? Have they been waiting to smile at someone?"
* I've participated in several mission trips that have passed through New York City. With so many people, it is a place ripe for conversation opportunities to tell of Christ's love. But more than once, as I've waded down the busy Manhattan sidewalks, I've thought that to go to there and simply smile and wish "Good morning" would be mission enough. In a place that's big, bustling, and impersonal, what a difference a smile can make!
* Can greeting strangers be carried too far? When I was younger, my sisters and I would take a walk down River Road. Since it's a popular spot, we'd pass many other walkers - and I almost always tried to say hello. But sometimes I'd get in trouble with my sisters. "Phil," they'd explain, "If someone is already having a conversation, you can't just interrupt them." Is this really true?

84. A JOB WELL DONE

Particularly when done for another

* This simple miracle is specially dedicated to my Uncle Mark, who retires this week after close to 25 years of service in the United States Air Force.
* How indebted we are to all those military men and women who have sacrificed time and safety for our freedom and safety!