Grandma Asked God For a Tiny Thing, but God's Answer was Grandiose!
These images were created by the author to better represent the story. The actual characters looked different. But the story is real!
This story that happened yesterday was shared with me by someone very dear to me. She personally witnessed this scene.
It was afternoon.
One grandma was rushing into a small grocery store with a box in her hands, she looked no less than 80 years old. Her face was glowing with kindness and cheerfulness.
Wonder what’s in that box?
And why is she carrying it into the grocery store?
Meanwhile, a chubby bald seller with kind eyes was making delicious coffee for a customer of the store.
Watching her approach, he looked at her as if he already knew her
At the same time, he didn’t want other people to realize it, he just didn’t want to make a show of it.
So what’s going to happen next?
Could they be family?
As it turned out later, the box that grandma was carrying with such joy was full of delicious ripe apples, almost certainly homegrown and chemical-free.
She asked the seller:
Dear, can I exchange these apples for bread?
This question may seem childishly naive, especially in our country.
But this grandma didn’t ask it from a good life. To make you understand the situation, in the country where she lives her pension is extremely low, less than a hundred dollars, there is huge inflation, and food and utilities are very expensive, just like in many developed countries. They haven’t even heard of food banks because they don’t have any.
The man, without thinking for a long time, took the box with apples from her and went somewhere else.
After a while, he came back …
With a full bag of food, including fresh crusty bread.
But that’s not the end of the story,there’s more to come
Grandma was super happy when she saw the bag full of groceries.
She picked up the bread and kissed it thankfully with the words:
“God helps me a lot and hears my prayers.”
A mysterious man was standing nearby.
His back was turned to us and he was slowly drinking coffee, as if listening to the conversation.
After the happy granny left the store, he approached the store owner and calmly asked:
— “Is this your relative?”
— “No, she just brings us apples and we help her,” replied the store owner”.
And the mysterious man said:— “You know what, I’ll bring you money and you help people like her regularly.”
The owner refused the idea, saying that they would try to help anyway, but that man insisted, and the owner agreed.
In this sweet life story that happened yesterday’s cold day, we can see three spiritual lessons at once:
Despite hardship, sickness, and poverty, a person who truly loves God, and has humility, love, and simplicity, can be filled with happiness and positivity. For this, we need God’s grace. And God gives grace only to people with humility. Pride and selfishness on the contrary is a wall to receiving Divine grace. Pride blinds the mind, when we think that we are something special, higher than others. A proud man may at times even think that his opinion is more correct and intelligent than God's opinion. At the same time, everything we have is from God. Absolutely everything. He is the Creator and Giver of all the goods on Earth. Selfishness, when we are self-centered, always brings irritation, envy, resentment, anger, discouragement, worries, and fears. The more we want to have, the more frustrated we get when something or someone stands in the way of that goal. This simple grandma was radiant with joy and positivity. She wasn’t self-absorbed. Therefore, she felt joy in life. She did not demand, but she thanked God, the giver of all good things and good people. It is never too late to start learning, but we need God’s help to do it. Without God, we can do nothing good.
God hears humble prayers, maybe not always immediately, and only if it is useful to the person, and if it is salvific for his soul. It is very possible that this grandma prayed not only for herself but also for others like her. And her prayers were answered. Many other destitute pensioners and poor people will be able to receive at least a little help. We should pray not only for ourselves but also for others who are suffering. God is very pleased when our heart “hurts” for others as well.
We need to learn to truly appreciate what God gives us each day. Including a loaf of bread. Not everyone on the planet has that loaf on their table. If you are bored with food, one of the best ways to regain the flavor of life and the taste of food is a Post (Orthodox fast). Orthodox Post is not only a temporary refusal of animal products, it is a limitation in favorite foods, and it is saving money. And the saved money (or part of it) can be given to such hungry and poor people. However, physical fasting without spiritual abstinence from entertainment has no benefit for the soul.
I was especially impressed by the fact that the grandma, probably not wanting to embarrass the seller and the owner, not only asked for food but also gave what she could. Look, even if she had no bread, she found the time, effort, and desire to give thanks with home-grown apples. If we have nothing at all, we can give thanks at least through prayer and the heartfelt blessing of those who have helped us. Bless them, their entire family, and relatives, including those who have passed away. Also, pray for those who have helped you, and if possible write down their names so that the priest can remember them in Church. This is a great help!
I don’t want to teach you much because I need to learn it myself. This is a valuable lesson and reminder for me. But if you are interested in the Orthodox faith you can first pray to God from your heart to help you find a real good Orthodox priest and God seeing your sincere intention will help you.
But you also, if possible, don’t just sit around but look for him, too!