Hamburgers, hot dogs, picnics with family and friends. Swimming, kids playing outside, and of course fireworks. This is what most people think of when they think of the 4th of July. But that's not what it is really about. I wonder how many people actually think about what we are celebrating every year when we watch the fireworks?
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'Some people!' snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at the
grocery store.
'You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line,'
said a woman. I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was
and saw a well dressed young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her
credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine kept
rejecting it.
'It's one of them welfare card things. Damn people need to get a job like
everyone else,' said the man standing behind me. The young woman turned
around to see who had made the comment. 'It was me,' he said, pointing to
himself.
The young lady's face began to change expression. Almost in tears, she
dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the
store. Everyone in the checkout line watched as she began running to her
car. Never looking back, she got in and drove away.
Minutes later a young man walked into the store. He went up to the cashier
and asked if she had seen the woman. After describing her, the cashier told
him that she had run out of the store, got into her car, and drove away.
'Why would she do that?' asked the man. Everyone in the line looked around
at the fellow who had made the statement. 'I made a stupid comment about
the welfare card she was using. Something I shouldn't have said. I'm
sorry,' said the man.
'Well, that's bad, real bad, in fact. Her brother was killed in Afghanistan
two years ago. He had three young children and she has taken on that
responsibility. She's twenty years old, single, and now has three children
to support,' he said in a very firm voice.
'I'm really truly sorry. I didn't know,' he replied, shaking both his hands
about.
The young man asked, 'Are these paid for?' pointing to the shopping cart
full of groceries. 'It wouldn't take her card,' the clerk told him.
'Do you know where she lives?' asked the man who had made the comment.
'Yes, she goes to our church.'
'Excuse me,' he said as he made his way to the front of the line. He pulled
out his wallet, took out his credit card and told the cashier, 'Please use
my card. PLEASE!' The clerk took his credit card and began to ring up the
young woman's groceries.
'Hold on,' said the gentleman. He walked back to his shopping cart and began
loading his own groceries onto the belt to be included. 'Come on people. We
got three kids to help raise!' he told everyone in line. Everyone began to
place their groceries onto the fast moving belt. A few customers began
bagging the food and placing it into separate carts. 'Go back and get two
big turkeys,' yelled a heavyset woman, as she looked at the man. 'NO,'
yelled the man. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. The entire store
became quiet for several seconds. 'Four turkeys,' yelled the man. Everyone
began laughing and went back to work. When all was said and done, the man
paid a total of $1,646.57 for the groceries. He then walked over to the
side, pulled out his check book, and began writing a check using the bags
of dog food piled near the front of the store for a writing surface. He
turned around and handed the check to the young man. 'She will need a
freezer and a few other things as well,' he told the man.
The young man looked at the check and said, 'This is really very generous of
you.'
'No,' said the man. 'Her brother was the generous one.'
Everyone in the store had been observing the odd commotion and began to
clap. And I drove home that day feeling very American. |
I have no idea if this is a true story or not. It was a forwarded email I recieved this morning. But when I read it, it made me stop and think of everything we should be thinking of and celebrating today and tonight. We should be celebrating the fact that becasue so many of our ancestors were willing to sacrifice themselves we can live in a counrty where we are free to do things like shoot off fireworks and have big family get-togethers. We should be thinking of and praying for all the men and women who are overseas serving our county and risking their lives to ensure our continued freedom. We should be thanking God for them. I know I am.
Have a safe and fun Independence day everyone!
