Miracle at the Grocery Store

Kathryn Swegart writes how simple acts of charity spread hope in challenging times. 

Christmas was five days away and the state of Maine was under siege. A hurricane-like storm blindsided the state, blowing down thousands of trees, thrashing unsuspecting citizens with torrential downpours, and dams were near bursting. Authorities ordered evacuations as mudslides blocked roads, and power outages threw 400,000 Mainers into the dark. 

Food shopping became an adventure. I entered Shaw’s Supermarket, ready to buy the Christmas ham. Rumors had spread that cash registers were off-line, slowing transactions, and creating long lines. Cash only. I stood in line waiting my turn. I noticed that the young cashier was frazzled by the slow working of the register. 

A Christmas miracle

Three people were in front of me. The first lady in line did not have enough cash and started to put some of her purchases to one side. Suddenly, the second person in line leaped to her aid. 

“Here, take this twenty-dollar bill and buy what you need,” she said. 

“Are you sure?” inquired the first lady, acting a bit stunned.  

The second lady smiled and nodded. 

The exasperated cashier watched the encounter. She slammed her hands on the counter and proclaimed loudly, “I knew there was going to be a Christmas miracle today!” 

We all were startled by the outburst.  

I asked, “Did you tell people that you thought there would be a Christmas miracle today?” 

“Yes, I did," she said definitively. 

We all smiled. 

Kindness brightens our lives

It is these small brushstrokes of kindness that brighten the canvas of our lives. A Dominican priest, Father Garrigou-Lagrange, once wrote about acts of kindness: 

[Charity] is manifested in the smile, the glance, in one’s bearing, in one’s way of acting, and in the choice of one’s words. (Three Ages of the Interior Life) 

I stood there with a Christmas ham in my basket, startled by the spontaneity of that moment. In some small way, we all stood in the grocery line and felt connected, pilgrims on the same journey. 

Washed-out roads, downed trees, and lack of electricity shook us out of our routines. Upon my arrival home from the store, I awoke from my preoccupation and witnessed more acts of kindness. One neighbor shared a piping-hot beef stew with an older man living alone. His generator was running low on gas. Someone gave him a gas can, half-filled with the precious fuel he needed to stay warm. I witnessed this exchange and saw the same surprised look on his face as I saw on the faces of shoppers at the grocery store. 

In The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis called adversity “God’s megaphone.” Indeed, sometimes we do need a nudge in the right direction, a moment when we step out of our comfort zones. Advent is a time for us to wake from our sleepy routines, as we prepare for the coming of our Savior. God does not always shout into His megaphone; sometimes He may just give a little toot. 

Amid a trying week for Mainers, these simple acts of charity brightened up our day, giving us hope that human kindness was alive and well, even at our local grocery store. 

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Copyright 2024 Kathryn Swegart
Images: Canva