Greetings, You are Highly Favored

28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28 NIV

Today I went to Walmart to pick up some photos. I shopped around for a little bit before going to electronics.  There were two ladies working and chatting over a partition. I did not see a sign signifying photos, so I began a conversation with lady closest to me.

“Is this the photo department?” I asked.

She looked at me in silence.

I thought she did not understand my question. “Can you tell me where the photo department is?”

She replied simply, “Good Morning”

I paused thinking what an odd answer to my question. THEN I realized she was kindly or sarcastically reminding me that conversations should start with a proper greeting. She was first a LADY, who happened to be an employee for Walmart.

I quickly recovered and said, “Good Morning, how are you?”

My photos were not quite ready and the other lady needed to finish them up. I asked questions, engaged about Christmas, and bragged about my wife. We all three left with a smile and cordial responses of “have a good day!”

On my bus, I taped a sign up above the kids on the roof with the following sign, “Smiles are free- give them away.”

As I was reminded this morning, tis always the season to give proper greetings at the beginning of conversations. 

Do you want to bring JOY to others this Christmas?

• Smile more often.  Even a fake smile will point you in the right direction of bringing joy to others. It will also remind your heart that Jesus loves you.
• Try to add more greetings. Feliz navidad, Good morning, Bonjour, Hail O favored One, Hello, Como Esta? Changing the greeting, helps engage the person.
• Capture eye contact. Eyes are the window of the soul. Making eye contact communicates volumes nonverbally of the other person’s connection to you. 
• Greet all those who are serving others in retail situations. Appreciation is always a booster for the hectic season schedule.

The Angel greeted Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Because of Jesus, I know you are also highly favored. May you have a great day, letting others know how special they are. We are first a person who is loved by our heavenly Father, and then we are husband, wife, son, daughter, employee…

Have a great day O favored one of God!

Blessings Love y’all