The young girl with the dad could see the mother next to her
was talking about the popcorn and wondered if they wanted some. She leaned over
to her dad and said, “Daddy, I am going to share our popcorn with these people.
I don’t think they have the money to buy some for themselves.” The father
responded, “Sure, ask them, but be quiet so we don’t disturb anyone.”
This little girl reached over, handing her bucket to her
neighbor in the next seat asking, “Do you and your mom want some popcorn?” The
other girl said, “No, I am good, thanks though.” The mother angrily reached
over, “Certainly we want our popcorn.” The little girl was taken back but
thought to herself that they must be hungry.
The mother kept the popcorn on her seat and ate slowly.
After a few minutes we could see the little girl was wondering if she would get
the popcorn back, when the mother asked if she could have the drink. “Yes,
certainly,” was the response of this girl as she handed it to the lady.
She
then bent over to her dad and said, “Daddy, we don’t really need those treats
anyway; they are not having a good day.” She reached over and held her father’s
hand. The lady kept the drink and the popcorn. This didn’t seem to affect the
father or daughter at all.
The woman’s daughter leaned over to her mother and asked if
she could go and buy some candy. The mother snapped back, “Yes, why don’t you
ask the family next to us if they want something,” stating it sarcastically.
“My purse is under the seat. Just hurry,” she exclaimed. The girl reached under
the seat and was unable to find the purse.
Boiling over, the mother leaned over her daughter and said
to the young girl sitting next to them, “Did you steal my purse as well?”
Shocked, the little girl clasped her father’s hand as he said, “I don’t know
what you are talking about. Could it be under the seat you had when you came
in?”
“What are you talking about,” this mother snapped back at the father! He
kindly pointed to the row in front of them and said, “This is the seat you took
originally.” The mother looked on the row in front of them and saw her popcorn
and drink.
At that time Sal and I became aware of what had happened and
were shocked to see her reaction as she handed back both the drink and the
remaining popcorn. “I am so sorry,” she said. She was truly embarrassed, as
well as humbled, by the young girl’s generosity. The lady reached for her purse
and got some money out to give the girl for her misunderstanding. The young
girl had no interest and suggested she was happy to share.
As Sal and I drove home, we talked about how this simple,
yet profound, experience gave us perspective on how easy it is to
misunderstand. This woman thought the family next to her had stolen, when, in
fact, they had given the “widow’s might.” We realized how often others deserve
the benefit of doubt before we place judgment.
This is just a story; one I wanted to use to illustrate the
following …
Have a generous heart; it will serve you well.
Know as we go through life our impressions can be one
hundred and eighty degrees from reality.
Our greatest
relationships come through selflessness and understanding.
And, if we’re lucky as we do so, we will find that “What
goes around comes around.”
No comments:
Post a Comment