Spontaneous Generosity

        A young woman approached my mother while inside a market. The woman offered to buy Mom a loaf of bread. Mom, by the way, is 93 years old. I was standing beside her.
     The bread was fresh and warm. Beforehand, Mom and I had handled a loaf. We had debated whether or not to purchase it. I chose not to. Unbeknownst to us, the young woman had overheard our conversation.
    I told the woman I would purchase the loaf after all. She again expressed a desire to buy the loaf for us.
    It seemed odd, a stranger offering to buy us bread. Why the generosity? Did she think my mother and I were poor?
    That explanation was plausible. The date was Monday, January 2nd. On the first Monday of each month, welfare payments are released to people in need. They mob this supermarket on that date. Prices are lower than anywhere else. Mom and I are not welfare recipients, we are middle class, but we still shop there.
    The young woman wandered over to a check-out line. Mom followed her.
    I cued up at another line. While a clerk tallied my purchases, I glanced toward the young woman. She and Mom were chatting. Smiles creased both of their faces. It was as thought they were old friends.
    The young woman handed the loaf to Mom. Mom returned to my line. Turns out, the young woman had bought us the loaf of bread.
    After paying for my food, I walked toward the young woman. She wore a head cover. The bottom of her ankle-length dress extended below her coat. The dress was plain.
    I asked her why she was wearing those clothes. She told me she was a member of a Mennonite Church. It was located nearby. Mennonites dress modestly.
    I shook her hand and thanked her for the bread.
    She smiled and said, 'Go with Christ.'
    The encounter reinforced a notion: An act of generosity lifts the spirits of both a recipient and a giver.