A Glass of Milk . . .
Paid in Full
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 so 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 humankind was
strong 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, 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.
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 began to read
the following words:
“Paid in full with one glass of
milk.
Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.”
Author Unknown
