How Much Does A Prayer Weigh?
Louise Reddin, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat in 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 families needs, she plead, "Please sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can. Please have compassion on us and allow me to get some food. At least, enough to feed my children. Please!"
John told her he could not give her credit because she didn't have a charge account with the 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 pay for whatever the lady needed for her family.
John told the woman in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a list?"
"Yes, sir. I do." Louise replied.
"Okay," he said. "Put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs I will give you that amount of groceries."
Louise hesitated for a moment with her head bowed as if she were praying. Then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled on it. She then placed the piece of paper on the scale carefully, doing this while her head was still bowed.
The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scale went down and stayed down --- with ONLY the weight of this piece of paper that she quickly scribbled something on. The grocer staring at the scales, turns slowly to the customer and begrudgingly said, "I can't believe this paper weighs so much. She just quickly wrote something on the paper. How is it possible to weigh so much?"
The customer never said a word. He just smiled as the grocer began putting groceries on the other side of the scale to get them to balance evenly. The scales took a long to time balance. As the grocer would add a grocery item the scales would just barely move, until finally the scale was overflowing and it balanced. The grocer stood in utter disgust and disbelief.
Finally the grocer 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 read, "Dear Lord, You know my needs and I am leaving this in Your hands."
The grocer gathered the groceries that were on the scale and stood in stunned silence as he held them out to Louise. She thanked him with a grateful smile and left the store.
The customer handed the grocer a fifty dollar bill and said, "It was worth every penny."
It was sometime later that the grocer discovered the scales were broken.
MORAL: ONLY GOD knows how much a prayer weighs. When we place ALL our trust in Him, he will provide abundantly.
(e-mail submitted by Wendy Tafoya)