The Smile

Written by: Kris Lamp

Her name was Sister Mary Benigna, a Roman Catholic nun who taught in a parochial school many years ago. She became a profound influence in my life when I was in the fourth grade. For two years I attended Sacred Heart School in Davenport, Iowa. Sister Mary Benigna was a slender young nun robed in a long black habit, and a starched square of white linen framed her face with her head covered by a long black veil. Swinging from her tiny waist hung a long brown-beaded rosary. She taught her class in a gentle yet firm way, gaining the respect of my classmates.

For some reason she took a liking to me, and I adored her. This incident I will remember   forever and has made me regard praise and worship of the Lord in a new and totally different way. Her relationship to Jesus was the most personal one I had ever encountered. One afternoon in the spring of the year she took me aside into a private room to talk to me for only a few moments. What she said struck a lasting chord in my spirit, and I realize the lasting effect our words can have.