“Gracious words are sweet to the
soul and healing to the bones." ~
Proverbs 16:24
By noon, the sidewalk shimmered in
an August heat, a silent warning to stay inside. But nine-year-old Cooper
refused to leave his makeshift stand—plywood balanced across two sawhorses.
He straightened his hand-painted sign for the third time. It
read: FREE COMPLIMENTS! No refunds. Just Smiles. Neighbors hurried by. Even the
breeze seemed too busy to stop.
Finally, a shy girl on an E-Scooter slowed, more curious
than convinced. Cooper studied her for a moment before smiling. "You
have kind eyes," he said. "Don't let anyone convince you
otherwise." She grinned and thanked him before riding away.
The old man blinked. "Who told you that?" The
boy shrugged. "Just seemed true."
From that day on, Mr. Peterson waved first.
As the midday heat peaked, Cooper's dad stepped outside
carrying a cool glass of lemonade. He glanced up and down the street. Business
had been slow. “Maybe you could use a little advertising,” he suggested.
"I could put a picture on Facebook. You'd probably have people lined up
around the block all afternoon."
Cooper politely shook his head. "No thanks, I'd
rather people stopped because they wanted to... not because they wanted a
selfie." His dad studied him with a flicker of admiration, then
quickly changed the subject. "Still glad you got the idea from that
“Dog Man” comic?" he asked.
“Yep, the idea of an ‘Insult
Stand’ seemed funny... until I thought about it. So, I figured somebody
ought to build the exact opposite." His dad smiled and handed him the drink.
"Atta boy."
Later that week, Cooper carried
the boards back into the house. The stand had served its purpose, but the words
had already grown wings.
A cashier at the Piggly Wiggly paused before handing a tired
mother her receipt. "You're doing a good job," she said. The
young woman smiled weakly, then whispered, "I really needed to hear
that today." A mechanic thanked his apprentice for a difficult job
done well.
Across town, a teacher wrote, “I'm so proud of you all!”
across the white board after a spelling test. A veterinarian congratulated her
technician on five years of faithful service. A grandson stopped by a nursing
home to visit his grandmother, just because.
Cooper never saw any of it, or whether anyone believed his
compliments. He just knew that kind words were never wasted. Some things are
too small to measure, yet powerful enough to change the world.
