For the past six years, I have been working at a local drugstore as a cashier. It is the kind of job that doesn’t require a lot of skill. Most people believe it is far to easy but, the role sees tons of turnover once people realize you are right on the firing line when you encounter unhappy, in a rush, or those who feel they are far to important customers. You are also the explainer and chief for choices those who don’t even know you make at make customers upset.
Yet, there are those few customers who make the job worth it. I am talking about those who see YOU and who take the time to actually get to know you as a person. Mark is one of those people. The first thing I noticed about him was that Mark lights up his space he is in and you want to get to know this person. The other thing I noticed was he remembers your name. I wasn’t just another cashier.
One day, Mark told me he is a pastor and he had asked me to visit his church if I had a Sunday free. If you read my blog you know that my recent church experience had left a bad taste in my mouth but, I made the choice to attend his church because of our friendship and I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know him better if nothing else. I was surprised the first Sunday I visited when Pastor Mark made a point to introduce me to the whole community as church let out. You know your important and mean a lot to someone when someone is willing to make such a big deal of you. It had made a deep impression on me and made our friendship all the more deeper.
When I learned that Mark was having issues with his heart and that he would be stepping away from the church, I was deeply concerned. When doctors told him that he would need a pace maker and the options were few, I did what I always do PRAY! Doctors first told him that because of his age a heart transplant was rarely done. My first reaction was to say, “well they don’t know Mark and if there was a mountain to climb Mark would do it.” Early this summer Mark came to tell me that he was on the heart transplant list. Goal! For those of you who don’t know being on that list doesn’t mean much if there is not enough hearts and it had to match and many die while waiting.
At one point this summer, I got word from someone who knew Mark that Mark was at the hospital waiting to undergo a transplant. Another Goal! Well, days turned into weeks and weeks into months and no word on Mark. That was until last night when Mark’s wife came into the store on the one day I work this week. A plane delay made her stop by the store. She said, “Mark is out in the car because he can’t be around many people and risk a cold or flu while adjusting. I felt like I had won a big prize hearing that he was now home and getting well. I told her to pass along my love and that I am still praying for him. No, sooner did she head to the car and here came Mark to say hi and give a hug or get one from me.
Sometimes, you get to see a true miracle and you are reminded that someone’s selfless act at the end of life means so much and you are reminded that there is someone bigger out there who does move mountains.
P.S. Please consider being a donor it really matters. I am one myself!
Thoughts? E-mail: francisearly@francisearly.com
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