Redeem the Time. Give a smile.

I stopped by the taco place to get a breakfast taco, and as I did, I realized the lady at the window might be giving me a chance to redeem the last two hours of my life. 

You see, my commute that morning had been awful. What should have taken me forty minutes had taken me two hours, and all the work I planned on doing before anyone else was in the office has just disappeared into a cloud of traffic-induced smoke.

I was frustrated at the situation, of course, but also at myself. Not only was I NOT getting any work done, but I wasn't being productive either. I could have been listening to a book or planning my day, but instead I was pouting.

Ever been there?

Back to the taco place, where I was about to pick up a breakfast taco (don't judge me). As I pulled up to the window and saw that lady's face, I had a brief moment of clarity where I realized I could redeem the last two (miserable) hours.

I did the one simple thing I could do in that moment.

I gave her a smile.

I don't know what, if anything, that smile did for her. Maybe it brightened her day. Maybe she didn't even't notice. But I do know that in offering her that smile, I redeemed the time by bringing life to someone else.

So the next time you're angry or frustrated or feeling like you've wasted your time, let me encourage you to do the one easy thing I know to do to redeem it.

When your day seems lost you can always redeem it by giving a smile.