Pretty Good

People standing around me gasped. It’s one of those memories that doesn’t go away.

I was 19 years old and working my first real job in a grocery store. One of our regular customers was an elderly man who was always cranky. He never had a smile on his face and he never spoke to anybody in a pleasant tone.

When he came through my line, I said my usual, “Hi, how are you doing today?” He snarled and said, “I ain’t doing no good at all.”

I had the bright idea to be upbeat. So I answered, “Well, I’m doing pretty good.”

He narrowed his eyes and leaned over the counter toward me. “You may be doing good, but you sure ain’t pretty.”

That’s when I heard the gasps.

Then he sneered. That was the closest thing to a smile I had ever seen from him. I proceeded with his transaction like he hadn’t said a thing. He stood there and after a minute he said, “Didn’t you hear what I said?” Was he disappointed that I didn’t get upset?

I shrugged and said, “You’re entitled to your opinion. My boyfriend thinks I am beautiful and that’s all I care about.” With a big sweet smile, I handed him his change and told him to have a nice day

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you” Proverbs 25:21-22 (NKJV)

The people around me were amazed at how I handled him. But I knew his comment had nothing to do with how pretty I was or I wasn’t. He wanted to get back at me for being nice and pleasant to him and he tried to use my own words to do it. Obviously, he didn’t know me very well. I had no intentions of giving him the satisfaction of upsetting me. I repaid his unkindness with calmness and a smile and it blew not only his mind, but those around me as well.

Remember, always take the high road by remaining calm and repaying everything with kindness.