Howard Kelly, an orphan teenager, was very poor. To earn money for bread and education, he delivered various small goods from house to house.
One day he didn’t have a cent left in his pocket. Suffering from hunger, he decided to go to the nearest house and ask for food. He was terribly embarrassed, but when he approached the house, he was overcome by a feeling of determination: whether they would refuse or not, whatever would happen. He resolutely reached out to the bell and pressed the button several times. But when a young and very beautiful girl opened the door, Howard suddenly became confused. There was no trace left of the recent confidence. He just felt ashamed to ask her for food. And then he, stuttering with excitement, said: “Can I… ask you… for a glass of water?” The girl realized that the young man was hungry and brought him a large glass of milk. Howard drank it slowly and asked:
— How much do I owe you?
— You don’t owe me anything, — the girl answered.
— My mother taught me never to take anything for good deeds.
— In that case, I thank you sincerely! — he answered.
When Howard Kelly left her house, he felt not only stronger physically, but also mentally. Now he was sure: as long as there are such generous and kind people in the world, everything will be fine!
Many years have passed. And then one day one respectable woman, a resident of this city, became seriously ill. Local doctors did not know what to do. In the end, they decided to send her to a big city for examination by experienced specialists. Among those invited to the consultation was Dr. Howard Kelly. When he heard the name of the town this woman came from, his face lit up. He immediately got up and went to her room. The woman, tired from the road, was sleeping. The doctor quietly entered the room and immediately recognized her. Yes, it was her — the same girl who once treated him to a glass of milk. After studying her medical history and test results, the doctor’s face darkened: “She’s doomed!” The doctor returned to his office and sat in silence for some time, thinking about something. He thought about this woman, about his powerlessness to help her, about the injustice of fate. But the more he thought, the harder his gaze became. Finally he jumped up from his chair and said: “No, I will do everything possible and impossible to save her!”
From that day on, Dr. Howard Kelly paid special attention to the sick patient. And now, after almost eight months of a long and persistent struggle, Dr. Kelly won a victory over the terrible disease. The elderly woman’s life was now out of danger. Dr. Kelly asked the hospital’s accounting department to prepare an invoice for her treatment. When the bill was brought to him, the amount that the woman had to pay for her cure was enormous. And it’s not surprising — she, one might say, was taken from the other world. Dr. Kelly looked at the bill, took a pen, wrote something at the bottom of the bill and asked to take the bill to her room.
After receiving the bill, the woman was afraid to open it for a long time. She was sure that she would not have time to pay for it until the end of her life, even if she worked tirelessly… In the end, overpowering herself, she opened an account. And the first thing that caught her eye was the inscription made by hand and located directly under the line “Pay”. The caption read: “Paid in full with a glass of milk. Dr. Howard Kelly.»
Tears of joy welled up in her eyes, and her heart was filled to the brim with warmth and gratitude.
This story, which now sounds like an instructive legend, is reminiscent of the biblical wisdom: “Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.”
This is not a parable or an artistic work story.
Doctor Kelly (1858 — 1943) is not a fictitious person, but a famous therapist, one of the founders of the first Johns Hopkins Medical Research University in the United States.
The story about him and the glass of milk served to him is also reliable and recorded by his biographer.
Holy Land Charitable Foundation
Investment in the Soul!
Orthodox stories from life
