A Thanksgiving Story

A Thanksgiving Story
It was the day before Thanksgiving —— the first one my three children and I would be spending without their father， who had left several months before． Now the two older children were very sick with the flu， and the eldest¹ had just been prescribed bed rest for a week．
It was a cool， gray day outside， and a light rain was falling． I grew wearier as I scurried² around， trying to care for each child： thermometers， juice， diapers． And I was fast running out of liquids for the children． But when I checked my purse， all I found was about $2．50 —— and this was supposed to last me until the end of the month． That's when I heard the phone ring．
It was the secretary from our former church， and she told me that they had been thinking about us and had something to give us from the congregation． I told her that I was going out to pick up some more juice and soup for the children， and I would drop by the church on my way to the market．
I arrived at the church just before lunch． The church secretary met me at the door and handed me a special gift envelope． "We think of you and the kids often，" she said， "and you are in our hearts and prayers． We love you．" When I opened the envelope， I found two grocery certificates inside． Each was worth $20． I was so touched and moved， I broke down and cried．
"Thank you very much，" I said， as we hugged each other． "Please give our love and thanks to the church．" Then I drove to a store near our home and purchased some much－needed items for the children．
At the check－out counter I had a little over $14．00 worth of groceries， and I handed the cashier one of the gift certificates． She took it， then turned her back for what seemed like a very long time． I thought something might be wrong． Finally I said， "This gift certificate is a real blessing³． Our former church gave it to my family， knowing I'm a single parent trying to make ends meet．"
The cashier then turned around， with tears in her loving eyes， and replied， "Honey， that's wonderful！ Do you have a turkey?"
"No． It's okay because my children are sick anyway．"
She then asked， "Do you have anything else for Thanksgiving dinner?"
Again I replied， "No．"
After handing me the change from the certificate， she looked at my face and said， "Honey， I can't tell you exactly why right now， but I want you to go back into the store and buy a turkey， cranberry⁴ sauce， pumpkin⁵ pie or anything else you need for a Thanksgiving dinner．"
I was shocked， and humbled⁶ to tears． "Are you sure?" I asked．
"Yes！ Get whatever you want． And get some Gatorade for the kids．"
I felt awkward as I went back to do some more shopping， but I selected a fresh turkey， a few yams and potatoes， and some juices for the children． Then I wheeled the shopping cart up to the same
cashier as before． As I placed my groceries on the counter， she looked at me once more with giant tears in her kind eyes and began to speak．
"Now I can tell you． This morning I prayed that I could help someone today， and you walked through my line．" She reached under the counter for her purse and took out a $20 bill． She paid for my groceries and then handed me the change． Once more I was moved to tears．
The sweet cashier then said， "I am a Christian⁷． Here is my phone number if you ever need anything．" She then took my head in her hands， kissed my cheek and said， "God bless you， honey．"
As I walked to my car， I was overwhelmed by this stranger's love and by the realization⁸ that God loves my family too， and shows us his love through this stranger's and my church's kind deeds．
The children were supposed to have spent Thanksgiving with their father that year， but because of the flu they were home with me， for a very special Thanksgiving Day． They were feeling better， and we all ate the goodness of the Lord's bounty⁹ —— and our community's love． Our hearts were truly filled with thanks．
By Andréa Nannette
from Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul

1 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

2 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 cranberry   

n.梅果

参考例句：

• Turkey reminds me of cranberry sauce.火鸡让我想起梅果酱。
• Actually I prefer canned cranberry sauce.事实上我更喜欢罐装的梅果酱。

5 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

6 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

9 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。