Dear Editor,
The evening before my mastectomy was scheduled to occur, my husband and I went to the store to get some food staples since we figured I would be temporarily incapacitated post-surgery. Pushing the cart around the store, we were unusually quiet and short on our usual joking banter, each of us preoccupied with our shared fear of the mastectomy procedure, the breast cancer diagnosis itself, and of the as yet unknown pathology of the lymph nodes. We wandered around a bit aimlessly, shopping by sight rather than by a list, trying to use the task of shopping as a both a diversion and an escape from the inevitable.
As we made our way down one of the grocery aisles, we rolled towards a young couple with two small children. The father was retrieving a cereal box from the store shelf, while a little rough and tumble boy stood at the end of the shopping cart like a ship’s captain. A little blond girl walked beside her mother and smiled shyly at me. Neither parent looked over or made eye contact with us as we passed by. A few aisles later, we met up with the family again. This time I noticed that the well-behaved kids who were taking in the sights of the abundance that surrounded them, were a little unkempt. I also noticed that the young mother was wearing a light cotton shirt and sandals despite the fact it was rainy and cold outside. We passed them and once again, the young woman did not acknowledge our presence and averted her gaze. We saw the family one more time from a short distance as we left the grocery section of the store and headed toward the pet products. Suddenly, I was inexplicably overcome by a wave of emotion. I turned to my husband and said, “That’s the kind of family I wish we could buy groceries for.” I knew that the amount of actual cash we had would not be enough in this regard. But then the simple answer came to us …..we could give them a store gift card. My husband volunteered to go to the front of the store and purchase the gift card while I went to fill a prescription for medication I would need following the early a.m. surgery. Unfortunately, given the amount of time that had gone by, I thought that it was likely that the family had already left the store and that we had probably missed our opportunity to help. My husband met me at the prescription counter, handed me the gift card, smiled and said, “Go for it. I’ll stay and wait for your prescription.”
I walked hurriedly back to the grocery section of the store and began my search, but was not hopeful of finding the young family. Suddenly, I spied the young mother and her two kids with their backs to me at the end of the 3rd or 4th aisle I had glanced down. Walking towards them, I was a little apprehensive as I had to consider the fact that the young woman might find my presence unwelcome or intrusive since she had not even acknowledged us the numerous times our paths had previously crossed. “Ma’am?” I said hesitantly as I approached her. “Excuse me, ma’am?” I repeated a little louder. When she turned around, I expected to see exasperation on her face. I expected to see impatience or perhaps a look of guarded hostility. What I saw was unadorned and unexpected beauty. The young woman’s eyes shone brightly and her immediate smile was just as radiant. “Yes?” she asked. Her entire countenance was one of kindness and gentleness. I told her that sometimes I felt compelled to do things I didn’t quite understand and I reached out and simply pressed the gift card into her hand. “Really?” she asked, her radiant smile never leaving her face and her eyes never leaving mine. I nodded and smiled back at her, and then turned and walked away to save her any embarrassment she might feel.
Recovering from my surgery the following afternoon, I thankfully and tearfully contemplated the fact that a lot of people had prayed for me. I was also sure that among those people was a young woman who did not know me at all……… a woman who had gone home the previous night and had asked God to bless the woman who gave her a gift card in the middle of the store. Maybe her name was Grace or Hope, or perhaps it was Faith, I’ll never know …………. but I have absolutely no doubt that she had been sent to bestow blessings on me.
C.M. Clark
Kingston Springs