face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the
store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge
a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill
and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.
John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she
leave his store.
Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I
will bring you the money just as soon as I can." John told her he could
not give her credit, as she did not have a charge account at his store.
Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the
conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told
the grocer man that he would stand good for whatever she needed for
her family.
The grocer man said in a very reluctant voice, "Do you
have a grocery list? Louise replied, "Yes sir!"
"O.K." he said: "Put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your
grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries."
Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached
into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something
on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her
head still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer man and the customer showed amazement
when they saw the scales went down and stayed down. The grocer
man staring at the scales turned slowly to the customer and said
begrudgingly, "I can't believe it." The customer smiled and the grocer
man started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The
scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more
groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.
The grocer man stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the
piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater
amazement. It was not a grocery list; it was a prayer, which said:
"Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."
The grocer man gave her the groceries that he had gathered and
placed on the scales and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked
him and left the store. The customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to John
as he said, "It was worth every penny of it."
It was sometime later that John Longhouse discovered the
scales were broken, therefore only God knows how much a
prayer weighs!
Comments