In Week 13 of 52 Weeks Of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for a smile.

We’ve been working with some students to prepare for a cybersecurity competition.

I noticed that one of our kids stopped coming to the meetings.

So, I went to their class and asked for them by name.

They come to the door with a blank stare—a palpable hardness.

I say, “Hey, I’ve missed you at the meetings. Do you want to go to the competition?”

Something in their face shifts for a second and they say, “Yeah, but I didn’t think I was good enough.”

I responded, “That’s why I’m here, because you’re one of my best”, and handed them the registration form.

Then, there was that shift again but this time it gave way to a brief smile. As though to hide it, they looked down at the form.

“You’re going to bring this back to me tomorrow?” I asked.

They nodded affirmatively and then walked back into class.

The child that walked away was different than the one that came to the door, and I’m grateful.

#52WoG