Paid with one glass of milk.
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay for
his hungry stomach. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.
On the way through school, he found he had only one thin dime left, and he was
very hungry. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the
door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. The woman
thought he looked hungry, so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it
slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?" "You don't owe me anything,"
she replied. "Mother has taught us, never to accept pay for a kindness." He
said....." Then I thank you from my heart."
Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors
were baffled. They finally sent! Her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the
name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately
he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his
doctor's gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went
back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life.
From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle,
the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him
for approval. He looked at it, and then wrote something on the edge and the
bill was sent to her room. The woman feared opening it, for she was sure it
would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and
something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these
words..... "! Paid in full with one glass of milk" Signed, Dr. Howard
Kelly.
Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You,
God that your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands."