A new family has moved into a house just up the road from me and they have a young 6 year old daughter. I was walking home from the bus two days ago and she was sitting on her front lawn and she suddenly pipes up with, "Hello!" as I go to walk past. Her voice was filled with so much joy and it took me a moment to realise she was talking to me, so I stopped and we chatted briefly about school and moving houses.

The same thing happened yesterday. She had a friend over and as I go to walk past, I get the same, joyful, "Hello!". She has no concerns - doesn't mind that she doesn't know me. She's just happy and you can see that twinkle in her eyes that little kids seem to have. They seem to know that 'secret' to happiness...so why is it we forget it as we grow older? We forget to welcome the passers by, we forget to go out of our way to compliment someone, we forget to fellowship with strangers. Something wonderful that was said to me once was that strangers are only friends that we haven't met yet. There truly are wonderful people out there who can care without being asked, and like that little girl, I am forced to take a step back in awe when I see honesty without ulterior motives.

Heaven belongs to such as these.