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In 2015, “CBS Evening News,” “The Today Show,” and numerous other news outlets did a special on a 6-year-old boy from Savannah, Georgia named Jaden Hayes.

This young man’s father died when he was 4, and at the age of 6 his mother died as well.

Jaden’s aunt, Barbara DiCola told news outlets, “After attending a funeral and a viewing, and seeing all these grownups walking around and nobody was smiling, he (Jaden) just got tired of people with sad, frowny faces. He really wanted to make people smile and so asked me, how we could make people do that.”

Today.com reported how Jaden told his aunt that the best way to make someone smile was to smile at them first. Aunt Barbara informed young Jaden how this wouldn’t work on everyone so he told her, “What if you give them a toy?” And that is exactly what he did.

Jaden would walk around downtown Savannah, Georgia with his aunt and hand out little toys to folks he saw who were not smiling and he would flash the cutest smile a 6 year old could. Guess what? it worked like a charm. Google or YouTube this story. It will bring a smile to your face or tears to your eyes, or both.

This 6 year old lost both his mom and dad, and yet, his ambition in life became to make other people smile. With rubber ducks, beads, dinosaurs, or cars, Jared went to anyone he saw not smiling and handed them a free toy and a free smile. It melted everyone.

Folks, what if we faced life this way? What if we handled death, illness, loss, any struggle, with a smile? What if we could obtain the personality of then 6-year-old Jaden who his aunt said, “He’s just a ray of sunshine. It exudes from him.”

When “CBS Evening News” asked Jaden how many smiles he wanted to help bring to people he himself smiled and in that thick Georgia accent said, “I’m counting on it to be 33,000 (he had reached nearly 500 at the time of that article in 2015). I think I can.”

This was in 2015, but this story didn’t gain a lot of popularity until all the negativity and sadness we experienced this past year.

Are you also tired of seeing sad faces?

Maybe a toy will help. Or better yet, why don’t you just smile and exude some joy yourself. It really is contagious.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that

you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.“ (Romans 15:13)