No matter what religion you might follow, whomever you choose to praise on a daily basis is always watching. Even in the direst times, when you feel you have been abandoned, they are there. Ultimately, life is about how we pick ourselves up from falling down. The reactions you tend to have when you are thrown a curveball. Do you rise at the opportunity to help others, or are you so stuck in your own world you cannot see the hurt you cause with that limitation?
There was always light
Our story today will touch base with the spiritual folk. The ones who believe there is no such thing as a coincidence. It starts with one woman of faith. Someone who has been led by the guiding hand of her faith, knowing her God is always there leading the way to a better future. Without bringing anyone down in the process.
Sandy had always had a strong faith in her God. Raised religiously, she married the same morals and values from her parents into adulthood. Sandy struggled in school as she was growing up. She was unsure why, as her parents neglected to take her to a therapist. When she finally graduated, nothing changed much. Her slowness made it difficult to keep a job for a long time, and she was in an out of the unemployment offices. All she wanted was a table life to support herself and her future family.
Despite all her struggles, Sandy’s faith remained a strong companion. Never once did it falter, no matter how many bad cards she was dealt. The reassurance that someone was always there to love you was enough for her. This guidance was all she needed, and unfortunately, she developed a distaste for asking for help outside of her religion. Although, many times, that is unavoidable. A lesson she recently learned.
Her family hit hard times
Fast forward a few years, and Sandy now has her own children to take care of. It was nearing Christmas time, and she was stressed about money, which wasn’t unusual. Where most families worried about buying presents, she was concerned about putting food on the table. One day, their kitchen pantry was empty. So, Sandy went off to the grocery store. Knowing full well that she wasn’t able to afford anything, she went in.
Sandy was dressed in simple clothing, and she looked sad. Asking for handouts was humiliating for her. However, she had to try for the sake of her children. She went up to the shop owner and sheepishly asked him if she could take the items on credit. The man was notoriously unkind, and he looked her up and down with distaste. But the shop owner turned her away, telling her that he had nothing to spare. The woman was heartbroken and walked away with tears in her eyes, feeling embarrassed and defeated.
A kind stranger
Sandy found herself on the curb outside the store. She still had no food to take home to her family. This brought an uncontrollable wave of tears over her, and she couldn’t keep them in. As they welled over her eyes, a stranger stopped and handed her a tissue. This brought the tears out in full force.
The man told Sandy that he had overheard her conversation with the shop owner. It turns out he runs a shelter, and he felt the shop owner’s actions had been unreasonable. He gently took her by the elbow and walked up to the shop owner. He started telling the pompous man that he wanted to pay for Sandy’s groceries. But, the ship owner had a mean glint in his eyes and ignored the kind stranger.
The shop owner was seemingly hell-bent on embarrassing poor Sandy. He asked her if she had a shopping list, and sandy said yes. The shop owner turned around and told her he would weigh her list, and give her the amount of food equivalent. The stranger started to protest, but Sandy handed over her shopping list.
A big surprise
The shop owner started laughing the moment he had her list in hand. It was pretty much a feather-light piece of paper. The shop owner made a show of putting it onto the scale, but no one expected what happened next. The scale sunk right down as if he just put something extremely heavy there. Stunned, the stranger and the shop owner did not know what to think of the miracle. The shop owner started placing items of food onto the scale to try to balance the weight out. But, the scale did not move. The shop owner just kept adding more food to the pile, and Sandy just could not stop smiling.
Eventually, they reached a middle ground, and the shop owner could not resist but pick up the shopping list and examine it. He found that the list was not bearing a selection of food, but it had a prayer instead. the prayer read, “Lord, the Lord knows my needs, I leave this situation in Your hands.”
The shop owner was surprised to buy the prayer he read, even though he knew it was directed at him. Sandy went home with a shopping basket full of food to pack into her pantry.
Knowing her faith saved her
Sandy went home beaming from ear to ear, happy knowing that her family wouldn’t go hungry. Not to mention, her faith had saved her again. From that day on, the woman made a point of praying every day, knowing that it was her faith that had brought her such a generous and caring friend. And she knew that no matter how hard things got, she could always turn to God and know that she would be taken care of.
The shop owner was so amazed by the miracle of the shopping list, he found inspiration through it to be a better person. He started a food stamps donations thing that was only meant to run through Christmas. However, it became so successful that he continued running it throughout the year. Sandy returned in the new year to thank the man once again. After a long conversation, the shop owner offered Sandy a job as a cashier.
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