Skip to main content

a shining prince in dirty coveralls


 It was a cool day where she worked. Bundled up in multiple layers she labored away at the tasks before her between helping customers select what they needed and load it into their vehicles. A young mother wanted some heavy pots and an elderly lady desired three bags of mulch. She loaded them into their cars, smiling, chatting, brightening the cool day with her own personal rays of sunshine.
    It had been a rather hard and long day and she was looking forward to going home when an elderly man (probably between 75-80 years old) walked in with a cane and stood before the front counter. He was wearing a cap that must have been for free from the farm show and his face had a smear of dirt across his left cheek. His blue coveralls were faded and dirty and a bright red handkerchief stuck out his pocket. 
    "What can I help you with today, sir?" She asked with a bright smile.
     "I need two bales of straw" he replied and lay his ten dollar bill on the counter. She rang up his order, gave him his coins and walked out of the store to find his straw. He kindly back his truck up close to where she was and then walked around the vehicle.
     As she placed the last bale of straw in his truck bed  and shut the tail gate the old man looked at her with some regret.
     "Thank you so much" he said. "I hate to see a girl doing this but I have a pinched nerve in my back that's causing me some troubles so thank you."
     "You're welcome!" she answered. A smile lingered on her face as he drove away. Even though he would not have been able to load his things up himself his chivalry hadn't gotten old and for that encouragement, she was indeed thankful.

Comments

  1. :) That would make my day too.
    It reminds me of the 3-year-old who came with his mom and baby sister into work the other day. It was frozen, and the day was almost done. They left after I helped them load up the car... and then came back after 5-10 min. I thought that maybe the forgot something, well it turns out that they didn't. They went to Timmies to get hot chocolates for themselves, and then this little man says, "But mommy, those girls are really cold!!!!" His mom couldn't resist and bought us large, steaming, warm hot chocolates!!!! He seriously made my day!!!
    Another example of chivalry, except in a little boy form. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a beautiful post, and a beautiful story in the comment above :)
    Great to know that young and old know chivalry.
    Thanks for posting R.D

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Is Your Purpose?

 A couple weeks ago, a young woman asked me, "what is your purpose?" it kind of threw me off. Ok, it really threw me off. It seemed a bit touché to say "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever" when she was looking for specifics. And I get why she's asking. My life does seem pretty random. Thirty-two years old, working on my BA, teaching music part time, working at a coffee shop part time, and living at least an hour from my closest family member. On paper it looks...well...it looks random. I get it. Kind of hard to pull a purpose out of the randomness.  I was talking to the Lord about it because sometimes, even for myself, the person living this life, it's hard to find a specific purpose in the randomness. Sometimes I wonder,  when I get to Heaven if I'm  going to have anything to offer God, if while other people show up with their kids, I'm going to hold out empty hands and say "it's just me." I mean, if He wants soldiers to defeat spiri...

Body Image (1)

Contentedly situated in lawn chairs with our toes in the sand and the baby playing on a blanket at our feet, my friend and I watch her girls digging holes or running between the beach and the lake. Periodically, the girls run up to us to display the shells and rocks they've found. At one point, as the girls surround us, one of us adults comments on the baby being chubby (which she is, as a baby should be) after which one of the girls looks at me and says, "you're kind of chubby." She wasn't trying to be rude or smart, she was just being bluntly observant as children are. As I looked at I her and considered an answer, I thought of the baggage of body image that women have carried for generations, and I thought, I don't want her to carry this baggage too. I want better for her.   I replied, "you know, being a little chubby is actually a good thing. Our bodies function better and it helps keep us warm." This deep lesson was probably lost on her as she s...

Two Worlds, One Family

After reading that title, are you singing the Phil Collins song from Tarzan? I was. In my head. During prayer meeting. The theme for prayer that evening was the 3rd commandment; you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain . We bowed our heads and began praying around the circle. My dear friend sat beside me and prayed for her children and the children of our church. She prayed that they would never a know a day not loving the name of the Lord, that they would cling to Him and honour Him all the days of their lives. I went next. I prayed for my coworkers, so many of them living far, far from God, so many enslaved to sin. I prayed that they would know Jesus, honestly ask Him to forgive them, and then live the rest of their lives loving His name and bringing that Name glory. The same desire spurred our prayers, but the places we dwell in had a huge effect on how we prayed. And that's when that song from my childhood came to mind. The truth is that we are one family, my f...