Guest Blog Post from Lauren Holmes who blogs at The Naturally Inspired Life
I was waiting in line at the grocery store, and the girl in front of me checking out said to the cashier, “you’re gonna hate me…I forgot all my cards at home.” I watched her go through her wallet twice, (no cash or cards in there,) and was on the verge of tears.
Trust me when I say I had no intention of helping, lol, just being honest. ?
I’m thinking, “God, I can’t step in….I am on a strict budget and saving for my Caribbean trip…plus I only brought $60 to cover what I need for myself.” …still, I felt I was supposed to help.
I told her and the cashier that I’d pay for her groceries, and she rushed over and surprised me with a huge bear hug in the middle of Krogers, which gave me just enough time to whisper to her that God loves her, and that I was happy to help.
When the cashier finished ringing up everything (hers and my groceries), it was of course more than I’d wanted to spend. I reached in my wallet to pull out the $60 cash I’d brought, and in the next pocket, there was a random extra $20, and I have NO idea where it had come from! It covered the girl’s extra groceries which had come to $16.84 extra, and then some. ??
After she left, the cashier asked me if I even knew her, to which I replied, “No; sometimes I just feel like God wants me to help people in certain situations”. The cashier told me that we need more people like me in the world, and I had to be honest – it’s not that I’m so great, I’m just trying my best to do the right thing and to be obedient to God.
I am not sharing this story because I’m so wonderful…I’m not…in fact, my first instinct was honestly to turn my face away… to ignore the person right in front of me who needed help. But, what if instead of turning our faces away to those in need, we opened our arms, helped those in the grocery stores and in the streets, and really tried to BE the hands and feet of Jesus??
What if instead of just throwing a $20 in the offering plate here and there, we set aside $20 to be intentional about buying someone’s groceries, or paying a bill for a single mom or widow? …I’m sure that girl at the store is thankful for what I did, but I am even MORE thankful for the reminder of what I need to be doing to help others.
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I don’t share this story to make myself look good, but as a reminder of how we can turn our eyes to those around us who may need our help. ☺️ (I’ll post this on my blog when I get more time, but wanted to share via Facebook also.)
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