A reminder at the right time

428 timely remindersIt was a Monday morning and the queue at the pharmacy was getting longer and longer by the minute. When it finally came my turn, I was confident that I would be served quickly. I just wanted to pick up another drug for a chronic illness. All of my data was already saved on the pharmacy's computer.

I noticed that the saleswoman who served me was new to the store. She smiled politely at me when I gave her my name and address. After entering some information into the computer, she asked me again for my last name. I repeated it patiently, this time more slowly. Well, I thought, she's new and not very familiar with the process. The third time she asked my last name, I began to feel a growing impatience. Did she misunderstand something or just couldn't concentrate properly? As if that weren't enough, she also apparently had difficulty getting the information she needed. Finally she asked her superior colleague for help. I was amazed at the patience of her superiors, who were already very busy themselves. Behind me I heard some expressions of displeasure, where the line had meanwhile lengthened to the entrance. Then I noticed something. The new saleswoman was wearing a hearing aid. That explained a lot. She couldn't hear well, was excited and had to work under great pressure. I could imagine how she felt - overwhelmed and insecure.

When I finally left the shop with my things, a feeling of gratitude came over me, of course gratitude to God who had timely reminded me: “Don't be quick to get angry; for anger rests in the heart of a fool” (Eccl 7,9). As with most Christians, one of my daily prayer requests is for the Holy Spirit to guide me. I want to see my fellow human beings and things as God sees them. I'm usually not a good observer. There is no doubt in my mind that God opened my eyes that morning to see such a small detail as a hearing aid.

Prayer

“Thank you, dear Father, for the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us. Only with his help can we be the salt of the earth”.

by Hilary Jacobs


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