Read More Than Words: Stories of Hope for Free Online

in life, things that they were put here on earth to do. But she’d thought hers was to be a wife and mother—and it was, for a time. But she had more to give than that. So perhaps here was her new purpose, looking her in the face.
    When she got off from work, she went to the restaurant where the assistant manager had given her the leftovers, and she spoke to him in private.
    “It’s just an idea,” she said quickly. “But with all the restaurants in the city, and all the hungry people who need it, there should be some way to distribute it.”
    “It’s a wonderful idea,” Cecil replied with a smile. “Butthere’s just no way to distribute it, you see. There’s no program in place to administrate it.”
    “Perhaps it could start with just one person,” she said. “If you’d be willing to give me your leftovers, I’ll find people to give them to, and I’ll distribute them myself. It would be a beginning.”
    He found her enthusiasm contagious. “You know, it would be a beginning. I’ll speak with the manager, and the owner, and you can check back with me on Monday. How would that be?”
    “That would be wonderful. Meanwhile, I’ll look for places to carry the food. I already have at least one in mind. And I’ll get recommendations for some others.”
    “Do you think you can manage all alone?” he wondered.
    “I have three children, two of whom are old enough to help me,” she replied. “I’m sure they’ll be enthusiastic as well.”
     
    They were. She was amazed and delighted at her children’s response to the opportunity.
    “We could help people like that old man at the shelter,” Bob remarked. “He was much worse off than us.”
    “And that lady with the little baby. She was crying when nobody was looking,” Ann told them.
    “Then we’ll do what we can to help,” Mary said. She smiled at her children with pride. “The most precious gift we have is the ability to give to others less fortunate.”
    “That’s just what our teacher said at Christmas,” Bob said,“when he had us make up little packages for kids at the battered women’s shelter.”
    “That’s one place we could check out, to see if they could use some of the restaurant food,” Mary thought aloud. “I’m sure we’ll find other places, too,” she added. “It will mean giving up some things ourselves, though,” she told them. “We’ll be doing this after school and after work every day, even on weekends.”
    Bob and Ann grinned. “We won’t mind.”
    Mary gathered them all close, including little John, and hugged them. “You three are my greatest treasures,” she said. “I’m so proud of you!”
     
    Monday when she went back to the restaurant, Cecil was grinning from ear to ear. “They went for it,” he told her. “The manager and the owner agreed that it would be a wonderful civic contribution. I want to do my bit, as well, so I’ll pay for your gas.”
    She caught her breath. “That’s wonderful of you. Of all of you!”
    “Sometimes all it takes is one person to start a revolution, of sorts,” he told her. “You’re doing something wonderful and unselfish. It shames people who have more and do less.”
    She chuckled. “I’m no saint,” she told him. “I just want to make a little difference in the world and help a few people along the way.”
    “Same here. So when do you start?”
    “Tomorrow night. I’m already getting referrals.”
    “I’ll expect you at closing time.”
    “I’ll be here.”
     
    Mary was enthusiastic about her project, and it wasn’t difficult to find people who needed the food. One of the women she cleaned for mentioned a neighbor who was in hiding with her two children, trying to escape a dangerously abusive husband who’d threatened to kill her. She was afraid to go to a shelter, and she had no way to buy food. Mary took food to her in the basement of a church, along with toys and clothes for the children that had been provided by her employer. The woman