“Smile with Your Heart,” Friend, June 2024, 32–33.
Friend to Friend
Smile with Your Heart
From Facebook, Nov. 15, 2022, facebook.com/Primary1stCounselor.
I once visited a charming town in Iceland. Right away, I noticed that the traffic lights were shaped like hearts! I asked about it and learned the story.
Years ago, people in Iceland were having a hard time. The town decided to do something to help people be happy again. They called it the “Smile with Your Heart” project. They changed the traffic lights and asked people to hang hearts from windows. The hearts helped everyone remember to love others and have hope.
One person told me the project was to help remind them to be kind to one another. They also said it helped them stop and think about what matters most in life.
This showed me that no act of kindness is too small. Something as simple as a heart-shaped traffic light can remind someone of their worth, give them hope, and help them get through another day.
I pray that we will find ways to share God’s love with those around us. For “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).
Heart Strings
Make this heart craft and hang it up to help you remember to share love with others.
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Trace a heart on a paper plate or piece of heavy paper. Use paint or markers to color the plate if you’d like.
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Carefully cut out the heart. Tip: Poke a hole in the middle of the heart to help fit in your scissors.
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Use a hole punch or pencil to poke holes around the edge of the heart.
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Cut a long piece of string or yarn and tie a knot at the end. Push the string through one of the holes. You can tape the knot to the back of the plate to help it stay in place.
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Now “sew” the string to another hole across from where you started. Keep doing this until you’ve sewed through all the holes around the heart.
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Put one last hole at the top of the circle. Add a loop of string so you can hang up your heart!
Illustrations by Tim Bradford; craft by Anna Oldroyd