Sylvia had a busy
morning. She had her beauty shop appointment
at 9 and wanted to do her shopping for the week while she was in town. She spent the last of the money she had
budgeted for this month on groceries, stopping at several different stores to
make sure she had the lowest prices as well as the highest quality for each
item she purchased. She was nearly
exhausted when she finally made it home later that afternoon. She grabbed a grocery bag and headed toward
the house. As she opened the front door
she found Jeffery on the couch sitting suspiciously close to a young lady she
had never met before. It took all of
Sylvia’s poise to hold her tongue. The
first thing Sylvia noticed was that the young lady needed serious instruction
on personal hygiene, not that she produced an unpleasant odor. But it was the wild unbrushed
hair. The dirty looking feet, legs,
hands, arms, neck, and face; Sylvia truly hoped that Jeffery had not been
sitting around kissing this dirty young thing, “who knows what germs she could
be spreading.” Then she noticed her
clothes, tight and skimpy, wrinkled and stained. Sylvia thought, “Not a hint of modesty
there.” She shook her head, nearly
speaking her opinion as she passed them by, but she quickly caught herself and
instead greeted them cordially as she entered the kitchen and placed her bag on
the cupboard and gathered her bearings.
All that Sylvia thought
about was how to get this young little tramp out of her house and away from
Jeffery before he did something stupid with her. Then she had an idea, “I know her type, I’ll
make her uncomfortable, then she will leave on her own. Then I’ll have the opportunity to talk to
Jeffery about how to find some nice girls.”
She called to them out in the other room, “Children, do an ol’lady a favor, could the two of you bring the rest of
those groceries in the house?” After a
dozen trips in and out of the kitchen, Jeffery had not introduced his friend,
so Sylvia took the initiative, “Dear, I didn’t catch your name?” “Lousia” she
peeped, in a sweet little voice. Sylvia
gave her an insincere smile, “What a beautiful name.” Sylvia was actually
surprised that the young girl didn’t seem to mind the inconvenience of getting
off the couch and hauling grocery bags.
Knowing that nearly all the bags had been brought in, Sylvia asked
“Lousia dear, you wouldn’t mind helping me put some of these groceries away,
would you, while Jeffery finishes that mowing he promised to do?” “After you have washed your hands, of
course,” pointing Louisa to the sink. Lousia’s eyes sparkled in delight that she might be of some
help. Jeffery looked bewildered as his
grandmother cleared him out the back door.
Sylvia perceived that this line of manipulation might be backfiring as
the girl seemed to like putting groceries away, so she quickly changed
directions. Regretting she didn’t have
any dirty dishes or laundry, Sylvia decided that young people hate to listen to
older people talk, so she sat down and began to lecture her captive about all
the things she didn’t like about young people today, a subject Sylvia spoke
very long and eloquent about. Louisa
didn’t argue or seem defensive and she didn’t seem to mind to just listen as
she put the groceries in whatever place Sylvia would point.
When the groceries were
put away, Louisa politely stood waiting for her next instruction. Still hoping to be rid of the girl, Sylvia
asked in desperation, “Do you know anything about cooking?” Louisa clasped her hands under her chin and
gave a little hop, “No, I don’t know how to cook, but I’ve always wanted to
learn.” She announced, as Sylvia began to wish she hadn’t mentioned cooking,
wondering now how to let Louisa help cook without actually touching the
food. Changing the subject, Sylvia
blurted, “Young lady, do you own a brush?”
Suddenly Louisa looked wounded and fragile, “You don’t like me, do you?”
She asked. Now afraid she had hurt the
poor child, Sylvia backtracked, “Nonsense, lets fry
some chicken.” “But first, wash your
hands again, and this time above your elbows.”
Sylvia spent the rest of
the afternoon cooking with Louisa, but now not to be rid of her. Sylvia found she was actually enjoying
Louisa’s company. Louisa stayed for
supper and after supper Sylvia hounded Jeffery about having that sweet girl
over more often. There was something on
the inside of Louisa that Sylvia didn’t see from the outside. Unconditional love values others for
themselves rather than for how they look or what they do or what they have
done. As shown by Sylvia’s example
accepting others is a necessary step in learning to love others
unconditionally.
Discussion Questions: