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 grocerman that
he would stand good for whatever she needed for her
family.
The grocerman 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 grocerman and the customer showed
amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.
The grocerman, staring at the scales, turned slowly
to the customer and said begrudgingly, "I can't �
believe it."
��������The customer smiled and the grocerman
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 grocerman 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 grocerman 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.
.....
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