Smiles of the Earth

I'm in Saudi Arabia and just spoke with an American man who lives here but grew up in Arizona and lived in Dallas for a time. Yes, this world is small. There's also a man next to me who breathlessly stumbled onto the plane with mad eyes and tangled hair. His whiskey snores are puttering from his exhausted mouth, and he's spilling into my seat.


By the time I touch down on American soil again, I'll have been on four continents in 24 hours. The world has shrunk. People are everywhere. And everywhere is so different, but everywhere is the same.

A mother near me is bouncing her baby. His toothless smile is overwhelming his tiny face. I've seen many grins like that this week, painted on the faces of every type of person, painted on the face of humanity.
 
Children ran, arms were flung, hugs held tight - the repeated moment I treasured over and over this week. Mothers curled their lips in pride, carefully watching their beloved little ones play. Hard working men teased and elbowed in jest with each other, with deep creases rolling across their worn eyes as their stained teeth peered out from behind dark skin. Friends prayed, calling out to a mighty God. Laborers wept in satisfaction of their work.

Smiles.

The city was full of dirt. There are buildings, there were people - but when does it become a city? There were also shacks, donkeys, and rickshaws. But the city bustles. Men compete in the market. Traffic piles together. Drivers hold hands as patient road rage protects each attentive driver brushing against danger in the midst of traffic chaos. Order and rules are mocked. Yet still... 

Friendly smiles. Enemy friends.

 

The countryside stands quiet. Still air invites simplicity. Life is not a race, it's not a competition. It's day by day, it's simple, and it's full of beauty. A bus load of foreign faces pummeled through the stillness and unsettled the ground, yet faces grinned and arms vigorously waved. Children, families - possessing thatched homes, livestock, and the freedom of the earth. They own nothing but the world, and the earth has become them. Earth and flesh find no separation. Feet are mud, and the earth travels with the children.
 

Their smiles fill the earth.

The best smile of the week was in the poor, sad eyes of the very last child to receive a new pair of shoes. Quietly, patiently, the child watched in silence and respect as each of his friends received new shoes - no expectation or entitlement, yet clearly filled with all hope for his own possession. Head bowed low, a thank you was given only through eyes that darted up in delight then scuffled off with clomping new shoes. Another child strutted to friends, proud to model his new pair.
 

Giggles, gratefulness, grins - all filling up a room with smiles of every sort.
 

A tear smile rolled down the cheek of a man bent at the foot of a child, wiping away the filth of the earth. Jesus' smile. His love poured out.

These people are nothing like me, but they are human. We love, we find hope, and we smile. 

And this small earth is where we all call home.