Now
this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has
purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always
having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good
deed; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
One day, a poor boy who was
selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had
only one dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at
the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the
door.
Instead of a meal he asked
for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass
of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked,
"How much do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness." He
said.....
"Then I thank you from my heart."
As Howard Kelly left that
house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was
strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.
Many year's later that same
young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally
sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare
disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called
in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a
strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of
the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her.
He recognized her at once.
He went back to the consultation
room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special
attention to her case. After a long struggle, the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the
business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then
wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to
open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.
Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill.
She read these words.....
"Paid in full with one glass of milk." (Signed) Dr. Howard
Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her
eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank
You, God, that Your love has spread broad through human hearts and hands."
“What goes around comes around.”
The
principle of sowing and reaping is a law in the agricultural world. A seed planted in the ground will produce a
desired fruit. Such is also true in the
world of relationships, emotion and spirit.
The good deed you do today may go unnoticed or passed over as
unimportant in the larger schemes of life.
However, they are not forgotten by those they bless. They will return to benefit you or someone
you love at the least expected time. I’m
sure the little girl thought nothing of helping the stranger because it was the
right thing to do and nothing more; but it meant a great deal more to the
recipient.
Scripture to Claim:
Cast
your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days.
Ecclesiastes 11:1
* Many stories such as this
are "urban legends" and not true. However the website Truth or
Fiction states: "Dr. Howard Kelly was a distinguished physician who in
1895 founded the Johns Hopkins Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Johns
Hopkins University. Thanks to Andrew Harrison, the Processing Archivist for the
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, for help with this story." Like many top doctors of his day, Dr. Kelly,
charged enormous fees. However, he often treated people for free. (Remember,
people didn't have health insurance in those days.) For every patient Dr. Kelly
charged for his services, he treated three for free, Davis reported. So Dr.
Kelly's generosity to the woman who had shown a young man a kindness was an
everyday thing for him.
