I found this beautiful story recently.

There was once a man who worked in a depressing office where people were being made redundant. He would stare out of the window at the passing traffic and wonder if he would soon be on the streets. One day he decided just for the sheer fun of it, to start waving at buses as they passed by. One particular bus full of people starting tentatively waving back. As the week went by, more of the passengers started to wave. He looked forward to the 4.14 bus. They were his biggest fans!

By some miracle, he held on to his position. It was a good job too as he soon found out that he and his wife were expecting their first child. He wanted the world to know. So he posted a sign in the window for this bus fans, “25 DAYS UNTIL ‘B’ DAY.” The people on the bus were confused.

One day a large sign appeared in the bus, “What is ‘B’ DAY?” He just waved and smiled.

Ten days before the expected date, the sign in the window read, “10 DAYS UNTIL BABY DAY. His fans finally knew what was happening.

By then, the following had grown to include twenty or thirty different busses and cars. Every night, they watched to see if his wife had given birth. The next day the sign read, “BABY – 1 DAY LATE”.

Word spread about the man in the window. Each day the number changed and the interest from passing traffic grew. His wife was fourteen days overdue before she finally went into labour. His daughter was born the next morning! He left the hospital at 5:30 AM, screamed his joy into the morning air, and drove home to sleep. He got up at noon, and appeared at his window in time for the 4.14. His co-workers were ready with a banner posted in the window:

“IT’S A GIRL!”

He didn’t stand alone that evening. His co-workers joined him in celebration. They stood and waved as every vehicle that passed acknowledged the birth of his daughter. Finally, the bus from the docks made its turn onto the overpass and began to climb the hill. When it drew close, He climbed onto the window ledge and clasped his hands over his head in a victory pose. The bus was directly in front of him when it stopped in heavy traffic, and every person on board stood with their hands in the air.

The man was choked with emotion as he watched them celebrate his new daughter.

Then it happened””a sign popped up. It filled the windows and stretched half the length of the bus. “CONGRATULATIONS!” it read.

Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as the bus slowly resumed its journey. He stood in silence as it pulled away from view. More fans passed. They tooted their horns and flashed their lights to congratulate him.

His daughter had been born fourteen days late. Those people must have carried that sign for weeks. Each day they must have unrolled it and then rolled it back up. The thought of them going through so much just to celebrate his joy made him cry.

I LOVE this picture of joy. It is simple, but profound. We can all impact people’s lives in simple but deep ways. Who could you impact today?