Michelle Needs Flour

Photo: Los Muertos Crew at Pexels.

Grocery shopping was painful and anxiety-provoking. Peggy stretched every dollar to feed her eight children. Her situation worsened dramatically when her husband landed in a prison camp.

With each grocery item, Peggy measured the needs of hungry children against her last few dollars. When she reached for a bag of flour, she felt a voice in her soul.

“Michelle needs flour,” the voice said. Peggy paused, then put two bags in her cart.

Despite Peggy’s financial straits, the leader of her local congregation had asked her to befriend Michelle, a struggling mother who had just lost a child. She knew what the voice in her heart meant.

In the next aisle, Peggy reached for a bag of potatoes.

“Michelle needs potatoes,” the voice said.

Peggy put two bags in her cart. The process continued. She left the store with no money and only a small cache of groceries she knew she needed to share. She delivered the food to a shocked and grateful Michelle, then went home with half the groceries on her list and concerns about how she’d make up the difference.

After a sleepless night, Peggy answered her ringing phone. The ecclesiastical leader who had asked her to watch over Michelle had a delivery of his own.

A gift from a congregant who knew nothing of the previous night’s events enabled Peggy to buy enough groceries to feed her family for weeks.

When Peggy shared her experience, I wept. I’m grateful, particularly with the approaching holiday season, to be reminded of how important it is to listen, to trust, and to help.