One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door
to door to pay
his way through school, found he had only one thin
dime left, and he
was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at
the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman
opened the door.
Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water.
She thought he
looked hungry and 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." As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only
felt stronger
physically, but his faith in God and man was
strengthened also. He
had been ready to give up and quit.
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, he 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 from
the business office to pass the final billing to him
for approval. He
looked at it, then wrote something on the edge, and
the bill was sent
to her room. She feared to open 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 is shed abroad through human
hearts and hands."
