I was sitting in my little office this morning,  when a knock came on the door.  A rough-looking woman came in, stumbling a bit, with tears in her eyes. I had seen her before.  She and a man lived in the woods behind our business.  She asked if we had any candy that she could have. This indicated that she had been inside before, since she knew we always kept a candy jar handy on the desk for anyone who comes in.  I discretely reached in my desk and pulled out the pepper spray.

She then asked if we had a job that she could do. She said she needed money before she hurt someone; she had a puppy and no way to take care of it. I explained that we only have two employees, myself and the owner. She started fumbling around the price lists on my desk, asking if she could have them to read for something to do. She asked about the owner. I lied, telling her that he was in the back office in a meeting with someone...I did not want to let her know that I was alone.  I gave her a religious tract that he keeps on hand with his contact info and invitation to his church. She then took one of the CDs on the desk- a recorded service from his church. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks. I didn't know whether to run & lock myself in the bathroom, or hug her.

I then remembered the love grams that I had put in my computer case for just such occasion. All I had was a $20 and 2 ones, so I gave her the $20 and asked her to share the cards.  She smiled, blessed me, and told me that she loved me, as she left the office.

About 20 minutes later, she came back with a man. I noticed that she had bought them both an iced drink, which would make the 90 degree muggy weather a bit more bearable.  I told her we were closed, and asked if she could come back after 10AM when I HOPED the owner would really be in the office.  Through the door, she smiled and said, "I have another customer. He wants to do it too!"

I told them to come back later, since although I wanted to help, realized that it was not a good idea to let them both in while I was alone.  I hope the money will make at least today a better one for her.

Her picture is attached. Thanks for helping me to "share the love" and help her out a bit. I will be buying some more love grams soon.