A Little Story For Thursday: Generosity in Aisle Number 5

Lake Alpine-Lakeside Trail-photo by Libby Fife

I'll start with a nice post from Parker Palmer, someone whose writing is really starting to resonate with me. The post can be found here and underscores my little story for today.

Yesterday, while I was in the grocery store after hiking, a woman came up to me in a sort of conspiratorial way. She asked me to step into another aisle so she could talk with me. I didn't much feel like being asked to buy something or to hear a spiel about something. I was wearing my shorts, was kind of dirty from hiking, and really just wanted to finish shopping and drive home. But I am not so wary in a scared-urban-leave-me-alone kind of way. Politeness is automatic. So I stepped into the aisle with her. She said that she had noticed my skin. OK. I have psoriasis and it is hard not to notice. She simply wanted to tell me about a medication that she had taken which cleared her own skin. She had had psoriasis also and felt so strongly about her life changing success that she frequently tells other sufferers about the medication. Once I figured out what she wanted, I experienced a sincere relief that she didn't want to sell me Amway or to recruit me for a religious cult! No problem! Talk away! I let her know that I knew about the medication but couldn't take it because of my history of being treated for cancer. (The medication she mentioned can cause lymphoma and so I can't take it with my medical history.) I sincerely thanked her, we finished up and I left.

As I was getting in my car I reflected on the fact that someone was trying to help me. She was very nervous about embarrassing me and didn't want to offend me. So, she was trying to be sensitive and thoughtful. What more could you want? Generosity of the human spirit is such a gift and surely a sign of God's presence in the world. I hope I was properly grateful.

Libby