My morning routine for the past several months has been the same. Wake up, get ready for work, get the kids ready for school, walk them to school, take the dog for a walk and then drive off to work. Not much to really think about until you take a deeper look at that routine.

I usually walk Emily to school with our dog Chip. After she crosses to the school, I continue down the street to the park to give Chip some exercise for the day. Most days I see the same people. A neighbor who just took up jogging to get rid of her belly (her words, not mine!). A middle-aged man on a bicycle headed west on the trail.  A mom in workout clothes who is either in front or behind me depending on when we each dropped off our kids. An older Asian man with a slight limp in his gait. A young girl on her way to the middle school.

These all seemed routine until this morning. I hadn’t yet crossed the street to enter the park when I noticed the Asian man coming my way along the path in the park. He was still a distance away but I was sure that he saw me and I noticed that I smiled. But then something strange happened. He turned and started walking the other way. I wondered if he was trying to avoid me. During the past several weeks, I had greeted him with a friendly “Hello” every time we passed and we both waved. I didn’t think he spoke English because on a few occasions, he stopped to pet Chip, who darted away from him. I apologized and said that Chip was generally skittish with people until he got to know them and the man just nodded and smiled.

That same incident happened two or three times over the course of a few days and each time, I would apologize and smile. One time I introduced myself and tried to shake his hand. He smiled and shook my hand then walked on.

So today, when I saw him walking the other way I assumed that I had offended him or he was getting tired of Chip not being friendly to him. I continued down the path in the park going slowly to let Chip sniff EVERY LITTLE PIECE OF GRASS and mark his territory. I continued to look around the curves in the trail for the man but he was nowhere to be found. I shrugged it off and continued listening to Huey Lewis and the News belt out “Do you believe in love?”

Chip and I were coming up on the small playground on the other side of the park when I noticed the man was standing on the concrete circle around the playground. When he saw us coming, he started walking our way. Now that’s strange, I thought.

As usual, when he came near, I waved and smiled. As usual, he waved and smiled back and tried to pet Chip, who again tried to dart away. So I picked up the dog and let the man hold him. The man hugged Chip, put him up to his face and let Chip lick his cheek. He handed Chip back to me, smiled, took my hand between his two hands and gently shook it then gave me a quick bow and nod. He continued to smile as he walked away.

I was stunned, amazed and smiling. Did holding and petting Chip make his day or had this man’s smile and appreciation made mine?

What are the little things in your day that you might overlook that make you smile?

These are the blessings from God that we should never overlook.