A mother of three was wrapping up her last class before graduating and getting her college degree. Her sociology teacher gave one final assignment to the class before graduating called “smile at everyone you meet.” The class had no idea how it would affect them.

The teacher was an inspiring woman who had qualities the mother wished more people had been blessed with. The teacher had told all of the students to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. The soon-to-be-graduate mother thought it would be an easy assignment because she was naturally friendly and tended to smile at everyone she passed.

The very next day the woman, her husband, and youngest son went to McDonald’s to spend some special time together. They were waiting in line when everyone around them began backing away from the counter. Even her husband moved away. She didn’t move an inch and she felt a strong panic well up inside of her as she turned to see why they had moved.

As she turned around, she smelled a horrible dirty body odor and standing behind her were two poor, homeless men. She looked down at the short gentlemen and one of them had amazingly beautiful blue eyes and smiled at her. His eyes searched her for acceptance and he said, “Good day” to her as he counted his coins.

The second man was obviously mentally deficient and fumbled with his hands as he stood beside his friend. The woman says she held her tears as she stood there with them. The woman at the counter asked them for their order and they ordered a cup of coffee as it was all they could afford. They simply wanted to be in the restaurant so they could warm up, but knew they had to buy something.

After the men took a seat, the woman realized that all eyes were on her and she asked the woman behind the counter for two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. After receiving her order, she walked around the corner to the table the men had chosen as a resting spot and sat the tray down.

She laid her hand on the blue eyed gentleman’s hand who told her “Thank you.” Then she leaned over and told him, “God is here working through me to give you hope.” Then she joined her husband and son with tears in her eyes.

When she returned to her sociology class she had her story in hand and turned it into the instructor. The instructor read the paper and then asked the woman if she could share it with the class. The woman agreed and the teacher read it to the class.

In her own special way, the woman had managed to touch the hearts of the people at McDonald’s, her husband and son, teacher, and all the students in the classroom. She says she graduated with one of the biggest lessons she had ever learned….unconditional acceptance.

If you agree that the world could use more people just like her, please share this story with your friends and family.