I was sitting here thinking about the difference one word can make. Put the word "superior" before the word "job" and you get a whole different mental picture about someones job performance, add the word "best" before the word "friend" and a whole new dimension to a relationship opens up. "Exceptional Employee", "Brilliant Idea", "Irreversible Mistake"... the list can go on and on. Funny how uttering one word can completely change the course of a conversation, or change a relationship forever...

I went to the jail today to discuss a discharge plan with a client of mine. We spoke for about a half an hour, and when we were done he looked at me with tears in his eyes. He grasped my hand and said, "Thank you. Thank you so much for all you've done for me. I can't believe it." I smiled at him and he then asked me if I had kids. Usually I don't share any of my personal life with my clients, but I've been working with him for months so I told him I have a son and have one on the way. He gave me a somewhat small smile and replied, "I hope that they and your husband are good to you. You're so beautiful, inside and out." I was shocked to hear something like that and I was speechless.

The deputy led him away and all I could was sit there and watch him go, this sad soul who has no one to care about him other than myself, and that's only because my job caused us to meet. If it weren't for this job I'd never have met him; our paths wouldn't have crossed at all.

"Beautiful, inside and out," I kept thinking to myself all day. I keep smiling because the part I care about, the "inside" part, is something that I never expect people to notice, especially people who don't really know me as a person! To have this virtual stranger give me a compliment like that really gave me a boost, especially when I've been feeling like lately I've been floating through life without making any sort of difference... I feel like, as I heard in Church yesterday, "The Universe will send messengers to let you know you're on the right path," that maybe I met one of the messengers today.