The Grocery List
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 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 total amazement when 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 even greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer,
which simply said: "Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this all 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."
It was sometime later that John Longhouse discovered the scales were broken;
therefore, only God knows how much a prayer weighs.