The Grocery Store
 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.