A Parable by Marcy

There once was a woman who just loved the Lord. In fact, she loved him so much she was bursting with the desire to do something for him. So she exclaimed, "Oh Lord, here I am! Use me! Just tell me what great thing you want me to do. I'm ready. I'll do whatever you want, no matter how big, no matter how hard! Just tell me what it is. I'll be listening, Lord. In the meantime, I'll just go about my business. But rest assured, I'll be listening for your command."

So the woman went to the supermarket to do her grocery shopping. As she circled the lot for a parking space, she spied a good spot right near the entrance. But just as she got near it, she noticed that someone else in another car was also approaching the same space. "Oh well", she thought, "they might need it more than I do. I'll let them have this one. I'll find another." And she waved them into the space and found another one, further away. As she walked toward the store, she noticed an elderly woman having trouble getting her groceries into her car from the little motorized scooter she was driving. So the woman went to her and helped her get the groceries in the car, then helped her from the scooter into the driver's seat. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll see that this scooter gets back to the store. You have a nice day now."

At the entrance to the store, some people were collecting money for disabled veterans, so the woman dug in her purse and pulled out a five dollar bill, which she tucked into the collection jar. She also noticed a homeless man sitting on the ground outside the store. She said a little prayer for him and went on inside.

The woman did all her grocery shopping, then stopped by the deli counter and ordered a sandwich. She thanked the deli man for making such a nice sandwich, and then took her cart to the checkout. As she stood in line, she couldn't help but notice that the young mother checking out in front of her didn't have enough money to pay the cashier. She was short two dollars. So the woman quietly handed her two dollar bills and gave her a wink. The young mother thanked her from the bottom of her heart, and her baby even smiled and gurgled for her.

As the woman left the store with her cart, she turned and walked to the homeless man sitting on the ground. Without a word, she reached into one of her bags, pulled out the deli sandwich, and handed it to him. "God bless you, Sir", she said.

When she got home, she sat wearily in her chair and once again spoke to God. "Well Lord, I'm a little disappointed. You never told me what it is I can do for you today. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'll just go about my business.."