The other day I was at the airport and I wanted to pick up a small gift for a friend. I wheeled into the little airport shop and I found a very nice bracelet, and when I wheeled up to the cashier’s counter, I did my usual thing, I had to ask the clerk to reach into my handbag behind my wheelchair, open up my wallet, and take out the correct currency and change. I have to do that kind of thing any time I want to purchase an item on my own, and I have found that most store clerks are happy to help.
The clerk in the airport gift shop was no different. “Sure,” she replied. And so, while standing next to me and holding my wallet, she began to count out the bills and coins, laying them on the counter one-by-one.
And then, out of nowhere, suddenly a little girl darted up right next to me in my wheelchair and—clink!—dropped a penny into my change purse. Then she ran back behind the card rack to her daddy. The store clerk and I looked at each other; we were taken aback. The clerk said with surprise, “What was all that about?”
Then the two of us put it together. That child, who must have been watching me the whole time from behind her daddy’s legs, saw the clerk rummaging through my wallet. She must have thought I was poor and didn’t have enough money. When I realized that, I wondered for a moment… hmmm… “Should I go over and tell that little girl the truth? Should I say to her, ‘No, honey, I don’t need your pennies. I am a self-sufficient person so please, sweetheart, don’t assume that people like me in wheelchairs are poor and in need of pennies?’”
No sooner did that thought cross my mind when I decided, “no.” I knew down deep it was a proud thought. It reflected pride… and to correct that dear little child would have humiliated her. So instead, I took the humble route. I wheeled over to the child, and I smiled, and said, “Honey, I want to thank you very much for helping me. You have the wonderful quality of Christlike compassion, and if you don’t know what compassion means, just ask your daddy.” At that point her father gave me a wink. As I left the store, I realized it was not only the right response, it was the only response. Proverbs 18:16 says, “A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.” God must have been looking down and smiling at the entire incident.
That day as I left the airport gift shop, I knew for sure that a child’s generous spirit was reinforced, her compassion was encouraged, a father was made proud, a proud person, like me, was made humble, and God received the glory. A little penny opened the way for a young girl to be ushered into the presence of the Lord, the giver of all gifts. Today, would you please reinforce the gift of compassion and generosity in the life of someone who has been kind to you—no matter how small that gesture of kindness?
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends