Mar. 1: A Three Dollar Lesson

When National Catholic Register writer Matthew Archbold arrived in Virginia on a business trip, he asked an elderly man inside the train station for directions.  The chatty stranger not only gave him directions, but offered to walk him to his destination.  Archbold writes, “I refused…Being a Northener, I figured anyone being this nice was selling something.”

Archbold later returned to the station where he again saw the stranger.  Ever a talker, the man revealed that he had been visiting Virginia for his high school reunion when he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized.  With his ticket expired, he was waiting for a check that would allow him to buy a new ticket.  Feeling bad at having been standoffish, Archbold offered him $10 to buy food.  The man said three dollars would be fine.

He went off and returned an hour later.  Archbold assumed he had eaten.  Then, a homeless man entered the station, walked up to Archbold’s new friend, and thanked him for buying him a hot dog.  The stranded stranger had used the three dollars to help someone else in greater need.  It was an example of selflessness that Archbold says he will never forget.

Love your neighbor as yourself.  (Mark 12:31)

Open my eyes to the needs of others, Lord.