Kindness of a Stranger

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When I was a child I was painfully shy! So selling candy bars for school fundraisers for me was a source of intense anxiety. One of my dad’s pastor friends would buy a whole case of candy bars from me (he’d give them to his grandkids), and that was a big blessing. However, I always wanted to sell enough for a Hooky Pass (an excused absence to skip a day of school). So, I’d go to the local grocery store (the store gave it an OK), stand there, and a classmate and I would ask customers if they wanted to buy a candy bar. I hated it. One day, a man probably in his fifties came by with his teenage daughter (my guess) and I asked if he wanted to buy a candy bar, and he said sure. He gave me the money, but handed me the candy bar back and told me that was just for me, and he hoped I enjoyed it. That lifted my spirit the rest of the week! Just the kindness he showed to a shy little girl. I never forgot that. And every time I’m out and a child is selling a candy bar, if I have cash I buy one from them and hand it back to tell them that’s meant for them or whomever they want to give it to (no adults I’ve run into have had a problem with it). It lifts my spirit, and I remember the kindness a stranger showed to me. What a blessing he was!