GOD BLESS YOU!

Elizabeth Mary Van Hook

Genesis 12:3
"I will bless those who bless you."

"God Bless You!" I shouted across the room to a stranger when he sneezed in the cafeteria of my Pittsburgh office building.  After acknowledging me with a nod and a hint of a smile, he continued to converse with his lunch mates.  My words, sincerely spoken to a fellow employee, probably would have no effect on how his day was going to evolve. Later on that afternoon, I was a recipient to those same three words which were to change my life.

My workday had been unpleasant, unrealistic deadlines to be met, a crabby boss, and irate clients, made it difficult to smile.  As I sat on the express bus home, I gave up a prayer to God that he would let me forget about my stressful day when I got home, and allow me to appreciate the blessings and talents which I had become blind to.

I went back to my Sue Grafton mystery, and did not pay attention to the route we were taking home, nor the passengers sitting around me.  At the end of an exciting chapter, I glanced up to see that we had just passed my car!  I rang the buzzer, and, literally jumped off the bus.  I nearly knocked over an elderly passenger that had just gotten off the bus.  I quickly extended my arms to prevent her from falling.  She felt damp, clammy and weak.  I could hear her labored breathing before I actually looked at her face.  I couldn't determine if she was in an advanced stage of emphysema, or experiencing a heart attack.  She was pallid and transfixed to the pavement.  She needed help!  Frightened by her physical state, I asked her if I could drive her to the local hospital.  Stunned and with tears in her eyes, she cried, "You are an answer to my prayers!"  She urged me not to drive her to the hospital, but to drive her home.  She only lived a half-mile away from where we were, but was down a steep hill.  Heat and humidity, along with her weakness, could have proved deadly for her.

As she struggled to get out of my Honda, she looked earnestly into my eyes, and said, "God Bless You!"  Now, I had tears in my eyes.  I answered by saying that I needed his blessings, not revealing to her why.  She turned around to me again and did the "sign of the cross" on my forehead, mumbled a Latin blessing, and left my car.  She walked to her porch with faltering steps.

I whispered up a prayer to God to bless her and take care of her as I drove up the steep towards my home.  I felt released, relieved and vibrant, my workday memories forgotten.

Three words exchanged between strangers that day had the power to change each other’s lives.

Father, we thank you for the blessings you give us each day that we take for granted.  Help us to be a blessing to someone today.