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When
Catherine Scott was a little girl, money was very tight,
especially right after her father was ordained as a
minister. ???My mother often reached the end of her grocery
money long before the end of the month,??? Catherine says.
???She used to send me into my father??™s closet to go through
the pockets of his pants and coats. Since he was very
absent-minded, I often found money during these treasure
hunts.??? Somehow, it was always enough.
There was
one place, however, where neither Catherine nor her mother
would search---the Reverend??™s bottom dresser drawer. That
was where he put the contents of the church??™s ???poor box,???
money parishioners gave to aid the neediest among them.
Catherine knew she and her mother were never to take
anything from that box, even though they too were sometimes
poor.
One day
when she was about five, she heard her mother crying.
???Mama, what??™s wrong???? Catherine found her mother sitting on
her bed staring at the bottom dresser drawer.
???Nothing, sweetheart.??? Catherine??™s mother hastily wiped her
cheeks. But despite her young age, Catherine understood.
There was money in the drawer, no doubt enough to feed
them. But Mama couldn??™t use it. That money belonged to the
church.
???I can go
through Papa??™s pockets again,??? Catherine suggested. Her
mother smiled wanly, and Catherine started a search. But
today there was nothing to find, even though Catherine
looked carefully in every one of her father??™s garments.
???I could
sense my mother??™s desperation,??? Catherine says, ???but I
wasn??™t afraid. Perhaps I was too young to know how serious
the situation was. But I did remind her that we still had
some Cheerios left, and my brother and I could eat that if
nothing else turned up.???
Catherine??™s mother did not seem especially cheered by this
revelation. But within minutes, the back doorbell rang.
Catherine
was usually not permitted to answer a doorbell alone. But
right now her father was working, her brother at school, and
her mother trying to repair her tear-streaked face, so the
little girl was alone when she opened the door. A man in
badly worn jeans was standing there.
???Is your
daddy home???? he asked Catherine. She shook her head. The
man squatted down in front of her and handed her a battered
envelope. ???Your daddy gave me a school desk several years
ago,??? he explained. ???There??™s money inside here to pay for
the desk.??? Catherine noticed his warm smile. And his eyes
seemed to twinkle too. ???Hurry up and take this to your
Mama,??? he told Catherine. She closed the door, and did what
he had told her.
Her mother opened the envelope. There was a five-dollar bill
inside. ???In those days, five dollars was more than enough
to get us to the end of the month,??? Catherine says, ???so my
mother was extremely grateful. She did not remember the
desk or the incident, but felt certain that my father
would.???
But later,
Catherine??™s father was sure that Catherine had gotten the
details mixed up, and he questioned her over and over
again. Who was this stranger? The Reverend had no idea.
???He actually had given a old school desk to a poor family
many years ago, but that had happened in New Jersey, and we
now lived in Illinois,??? Catherine says. ???Why, after fifteen
years, would a man travel 1000 miles to return money he had
never been asked to repay????
Catherine??™s family never discovered who the man really was.
But like angels, his timing was perfect
Joan Wester-Anderson
joan @ joanwanderson.com
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To read archived stories, click on this link:
http://archives.zinester.com/9516/2004
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Blessings to you today
Bob Johnston
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