Louise
Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her 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 that he would stand good
for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant
voice, "Do you have a grocery list?" Louise replied, "Yes
sir." "Okay," 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 and the customer showed amazement when the scale went down
and stayed down. The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the
customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't believe it." The customer
smiled and the grocer 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 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 instead
a prayer which said: "Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this
in your hands." The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and
stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store. The customer
handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said, "It was worth every
penny of it." It was sometime later that the grocer discovered the scales
were broken; therefore, only God knows how much a prayer weighs.
Author Unknown
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