Of Airports and Pharmacies

I just read this and had to share. It is very good and I hope I won't have copyright problems for sharing it. Enjoy it

It was the least important task of the day: a visit the pharmacy. "I am sorry, I don't know why we overlooked the prescription," the pharmacist explains. "The script will be ready in about 20 minutes, OK?"

I take a deep breath. No. It's not OK. How could you overlook a script that was submitted six hours ago?

I exhale and smile. Of course it will be OK! I will sit right here in the waiting area with the blood pressure machine, in the tiny uncomfortable chair that conveys only one verbal message: I am ill.

I look at my surroundings. My mind wanders to a recent conversation I had with my father. I commiserated with him about wasted time in airports between flights. He listened and explained how he dealt with the delays: "I pray and tell God, 'Here I am , if I can help anyone...' Inevitably, I always have someone approach me. Even on things as small as finding the right gate. you should try it."

Why not? I take a moment to "try it." Then I sit and wait. Have 20 minutes passed already? Maybe I should have asked my father if that prayer works for everyone, or if it applies only to theologians at airports.

"Excuse me. Spanish?"

The young man is talking to me. He does not speak English and desperately needs to find baby supplies. He holds up a coupon with a specific brand name. Together we walk through the aisles and find the item. "Gracias!" He heads home. I head back to my seating area.

"Would you help me? I didn't bring my glasses and cannot make out that number on the label."

It seems as if my surroundings have suddenly come alive! There is too much to do! There is the woman with a broken arm, trying to hold a full gallon of milk. An older gentleman has inadvertently dropped a basket of items and cannot reach down to collect them. An expecting mother needs assistance to grab the last jar of prenatal vitamins at the end of a high shelf. I am running quick errands for others. I smile, shaking my head in disbelief.

Then I see her: an elderly woman walking toward the pharmacy counter. She looks at me and offers a genuine smile. Every step she takes is carefully planned. Her very appearance demands no respect from those walking around her, carelessly bumping into her purse. She does not seem to mind, as if used to the fast-paced world interfering with the slow pace of her body. What does she need?

"I know you don't work for me."

I turn to see a man with a name badge that reads: "Brett, Store Manager." He wants to know why I've been running around the store helping customers. Do I know them? I realize that I may need this pharmacy again, so I share the details: waiting at the pharmacy, conversation with mu father, the prayer...

I wait for Brett to provide that "look" indicative of "I think you need professional help." Instead, I receive a simple "Thank you for the reminder." reminder?

As I walk back to the pharmacy, I notice the elderly woman standing at the counter, rummaging through her purse, taking out tissues and a wallet. Something is wrong. I see the pharmacist and Brett speaking softly behind the counter. After a pause, Brett returns to the counter and with apologies tells the woman her prescription is no covered by Medicare. She begins to close her purse and does not look at him. He is not done.

"From now on, when you need this script filled, call and ask for me. I will fake care of it. No expense to you."

She takes the card, looks down at her purse, wipes away a tear, and thanks him. With a smile Brett steps away and lets the pharmacist handle the transaction. Walking by me, he smiles and states the obvious: "Perhaps we should transform the world into an airport or a pharmacy. There is always a place where somebody needs help or healing."

This was written by Dixil Rodriguez, a college professor and volunteer hospital chaplain, she wrote for Adventist Review in October 2011.

And after a while...

I haven't written anything in a while. Sometime I think this is not for me, but some other times I get encouraged by such beautiful words written by someone else that I can't help but share. I guess in the right time God gives us the right words to speak, to write, to "type"...
I came across today with a very well written modern parable by a great writer Max Lucado in his little booklet entitled "God's Mirror". He gave a different prospective on the third commandment and I want to write in his words what it says:

... Who could read the third commandment without remembering to live for God's glory?
I signaled a time-out, opened Exodus, and read the third command: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain...' Exodus 20:7.

(Max Lucado was in an airplane having a conversation with a Jewish Rabbi.) He goes on writing:

My puzzled expression was enough to request an explanation. "Don't think language; think lifestyle," he instructed. "The command calls us to elevate the name or reputation of God to the highest place. We exist to give honor to His name. May I illustrate?" ... I took notes. He proceeded to create a story involving a Manhattan skyscraper. Everyone in the building works for the CEO, whose office is on the top floor. Mos have not seen him, but they have seen his daughter. She works in the building for her father. She exploits her family position to her benefit.

One morning she approaches Bert, the guard. "I'm hungry, Bert. Go down the street and buy me a danish." The demand placed Bert in a quandary. He's on duty. Leaving his post puts the building at risk. But his boss's daughter insists, "Come on; hurry up." What option does he have? As he leaves, he says nothing but thinks something like "If the daughter is so bossy,k what does that say about her father?" She's only getting started. Munching on her muffin, she bumps into a paper-laden secretary.
"Where are you going with all those papers?"
"To have them bound for an afternoon meeting."
"Forget the meeting. Come to my office and vacuum the carpet."
"But I as told..."
"And I am telling you something else."
The woman has no choice. After all, this is the boss's daughter speaking, which causes the secretary to question the wisdom of the boss.

And on the daughter goes. Making demands. Calling shots. Interrupting schedules. Never invoking the name of her dad. Never leveraging her comments with, "My dad said..."
No need to.

Isn't she the boss's child? Doesn't the child speak for the father? And so Bert abandons his post. An assistant fails to finish a task. and more than on employee questions the wisdom of the man upstairs. Does he really know what he is doing? They wonder.

... The girl dishonored the name of her father, not with vulgar language, but with insensitive living.... But what if the daughter acted differently? Rather than demand a muffin from Bert, she brings a muffin to Bert. "I thought of you this morning," she explains. "You arrive so early. Do you have time to eat?" And she hands him the gift.

En rout to the elevator she bumps into a woman with an armful of documents. "My, I'm sorry. Can I help?" the daughter offers. The assistant smiles, and the two carry the stacks down the hallway.

And so the daughter engages the people. She asks about their families. Offers to bring them coffee. New workers are welcomed, and hard workers are applauded. She, through kindness and concern, raises the happiness level of the entire company.

She does so not even mentioning her father's name. Never does she declare, "My father says..." There is no need to. Is she not his child? Does she not speak on his behalf? Reflect his heart? When she speaks, they assume she speaks for him. And because they think highly of her, they think highly of her father.

They've not seem him. They've not met him. But they know his child, so they know his heart.
... Paul wrote: "We are ambassadors for Christ as though God were making an appeal through us..." 2 Corinthians 5:20.

The ambassador has a singular aim - to represent the King. He promotes the king's agenda, protects the kings reputation, and presents the king's will. The ambassador elevates the name of the king.

I pray that we do the same. May God rescue us from self-centered thinking. May we have no higher goal than to see someone think more highly of our Father, our king.
"You know how the story ends? the rabbi asked..."No, I don't. How?"

"The daughter takes the elevator to the top floor to see her father. When she arrives, he is waiting in the doorway. He's aware of her good works and has seen her kind acts. People think more highly of him because of her. And he knows it. As she approaches, he greets her with six words." The rabbi paused and smiled ... "What are they? " I urged, never expecting to hear an orthodox Jew quote Jesus. "Well done, good and faithful servant."
May all of us reflect the Father's heart until we hear the same.

And I don't have anything else to add....

Happy Sabbath to all