IT WASN’T A NORMAL HUG. I had tears in my eyes at the time.
My wife had just finished telling me why she got home from work late.
She’s a nurse who works 12-hour night shifts at a hospital.
On her way home from work Tuesday morning, she stopped off at the grocery store to pick up a few items. Orange juice, milk, bread.
When she got to the checkout counter, there was a grandmotherly woman with a baby girl. The little girl was a bit fussy, so my wife took the opportunity to entertain her. She even did a little singing, she tells me.
The girl’s guardian smiled at my wife and said, “You’re a godsend.”
The grandmotherly lady was dealing with some kind of a bookkeeping matter, trying to contend with a deposit that wasn’t going through to the bank.
The woman told the cashier she had to limit her purchase to $75. When the items tallied higher, she had the cashier set aside several items.
The lady apparently had credit for something that was supposed to go through as an instant deposit. Apparently “instant” is not always instant. The credit was not showing up.
This process had taken a few minutes, and both the customer and the person handling the checkout seemed to be getting a little frustrated.
Finally, the grandmother said “Can you cancel it? I won’t be able to get it.” And she started to leave.
That’s when my wife spoke. “Go ahead and get them. I’ll take care of it.”
The lady put a hand over her mouth in disbelief. Then she stepped forward and gave my wife a hug. The woman said that my wife would never know how much this meant to her. And she went out into the parking lot.
After the woman left the building, my wife realized that the few items that the lady had set aside initially were still sitting there on the counter.
My wife told the checkout person to quickly scan them. Then she asked the young man bagging the groceries to run it all out to the woman and tell her she forgot a bag.
When my wife went out to her car, the lady was still loading her stuff into an old-model, rusted minivan. She saw my wife and walked over and said, “Thank you again, so much.”
They each drove away in the same direction, my wife following her until the lady turned off into the older, poorer section of town.
The extra bill my wife had to pay was less than $100.
I think the value of it is priceless.
My wife told me this story as I was helping her unpack our groceries that morning.
What a wonderful way to start a day.
For more about helping others
Blog subscribers who win books this week
- Sandra Doane
- Rosemary Rasmussen
I give away free books each week. It’s normally to randomly selected subscribers to my free blog and quarterly newsletter. But this time I picked two of the most recent subscribers. I’ll probably pick from the newbies for the next several weeks.
The winners will get the option of choosing my new release: A Quick Guided Tour Through the Bible – among about half a dozen other titles.
Another wonderful story, Steve! Your blog continually reminds me that our lives are full of great stories, if we take the time to look for them.
Thanks Steve. Opportunities are all over the place if we stay alert.
I guess nurses don’t leave their caring hearts at work! Great story Steve, and way to go, Linda!
Thanks Gary.
Great story would love to meet your family one day.
Thanks cuz. Ditto.
I have been blessed to have been on both sides of situations like these! Thank God for kindness in the face of typical worldly suspicion. It is refreshing!