Hand Me a Napkin, Please

''The body can feed the body only.'' - Thoreau

I eat most of my meals at the soup kitchen across the street from the rooming house where I currently live.  If you want to call it living.  It's more like existing.  Many churches, sober houses and people sentenced to court-ordered community service are there helping out.  Yesterday, a church group happened to be volunteering.  When we go through the line at dinnertime, one of the stations we pass through is for a piece of buttered bread given to us on top of a napkin.  As I passed through that station in line, I couldn't help but notice that the girl serving had no left arm and only a stump, not even to the elbow, for a right arm.  I don't know if she was born that way or if something had happened to her later in life.

As I try not to eat too much bread, I asked her if I could have just a napkin with no bread.  To my amazement, she obliged and somehow gave me a single napkin.  I couldn't believe what I had just seen.  Miracles happen every day.  We just have to open our eyes.  I went home to my room afterwards and couldn't stop thinking about that girl.  I felt ashamed for all of the petty things that I complain about in my daily life.  I often have trouble extracting a single napkin from a stack of them and I have two good arms and hands.  I was so convicted by what I had witnessed that I began weeping and took out a napkin to dry my tears.  A napkin that had been given to me by a girl with half an arm ...

Author's Note

''I am not afraid that I shall exaggerate the value and significance of life, but that I shall not be up to the occasion which it is.'' - Thoreau

Reviews

[Shep]

Yes, miracles happen every day I am glad this happened to you because I saw one my self on tv as a girl with one arm played the violin very beautifully. Just because we have a disability doesn't mean the world just stops we must go on. This write made me smile inside for you

[barleygirl]

This is written like a true story, so I'll take it as one. I love to see inspirational writing done in such a way that a true-to-life anecdote teaches the lesson. To me, this is a natural, organic way to learn to be better people as we go along thru life. The only thing I wasn't quite sure of in your story -- what was so unusual about her picking up a napkin? It seems like that would be easier for her than buttering bread atop a napkin. Maybe having this actual movement described would make it more clear. But other than that little bump, this is a well-told vignette (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[NotUsinganymore]

Very nice. Sometimes the littlest things are the best.

[Pete]

so true. thank you for sharing your thoughts Junglee ... :)

[Shy Joe]

This is lovely Pete. It's amazing what we take for granite. How much better we are doing compared to others is an all to often oversight. May everyday bless you.

[Pete]

so very important to keep things in perspective. thanks for not being shy on this one Joe ... :)