A PHARMACY LETTER

“A Prescription of Encouragement”

Don’t you just love it when on an ordinary day, in an ordinary way, God constructs an extraordinary adventure?  Nothing is ordinary when God shows up with His surprise.

This day began in a dentist’s chair, or should I say, patient’s chair.  I was uncomfortable with pain and waiting for her diagnosis.   This dentist was of a tiny stature.  In fact she could have placed four of her hands in my mouth for a look-around.   Three days before she had demonstrated her skill in giving “almost painless” Novocain I’ve ever had.  

Before proceeding any further, can’t we all agree that we know when the “needle” is on its way toward its location by the fact that the dentist tries to distract you with a question, and cleverly try to disguise the long thin needle by hiding it from your direct vision?   Well, I knew what was coming and I was ready for her.    I closed my eyes!   I’m a coward in the chair for sure.

As she was about to administered the freezing gel, she pulled out the needle as though she was in the Wild West drawing her gun, then aimed, fired, and all was well.  

A dose of laughter is one of my relaxing schemes…..for me and for those who are attending me medically.     In the sixty seconds it took for the Novocain to numb my jaw, one of my husband’s comments about physicians and dentists came to my mind.   This is a good spot to share it with you.   My husband says that he never minds going to a dentist, it’s the doctors he is afraid of.   I asked him why?    His immediate and well-thought-of comment was, “A dentist has to stay in your mouth.   A doctor can go anywhere on your body!”

This comment brought the dentist and her assistant (whom I refer to as Susie suction) into hysterical laughter.    After thirty minutes in the horizontal position, I was more than ready to hit the lift off button.   Have you ever considered the reasons they position you in that troubling horizontal position?   My guess is that once you’re down, they’ve got you right where they want you; and unless you’re a gymnast, you’ll not be able to escape their grasp.   Yes, I know there are good reasons, and one of them isn’t to help you sleep.

I rose to the occasion and exited the clinic.   I was equipped with a prescription for antibiotics.   The drive to our pharmacy wasn’t far from our home, but in that it was near dinner time, I thought I would grab a few quick bites to eat, as I had dinner almost ready before my appointment.

Chewing very carefully, I swallowed some of the meal and made a quick exit to our local pharmacy.  As always, the pharmacists were very personable and efficient.  It took them two minutes to prepare my prescription.   Normally I just thank them and head out the door.   However, this time it was different.   I couldn’t get over how fast they filled my medicinal request, and I found myself giving some verbal encouragement to one of the pharmacy staff members.  

At this point, I realized that this woman must have encountered a not-so-nice clientele throughout the day, as my words were accepted as though they were pain killers for what she and the other staff members had experienced in their interaction with others.

She was overjoyed with my words of affirmation, and was quick to express that she would be sharing my positive comments with her associates and supervisor.

As I exited the store my immediate thought was that I should write a letter of encouragement one day and bring it in for the staff to have on hand on those not-so-good days.

When pulling into our garage I realized that I had forgotten to take both prescriptions, I had only picked up the one.   Discomfort was beginning to linger on the right side of my mouth as the Novocain wore off.    I quickly finished my dinner so I could return to the pharmacy once again to get the remainder of my pills.   

Ah ha, my computer was on, and so I moved in haste to the keyboard and typed four short paragraphs of thankfulness describing how the staff at this pharmacy was efficient, caring, personable, and so kind in the manner in which they filled my order.   The printer cooperated with me, and there in black and white were my words of praise.

I had less than fifteen minutes to make my final approach to the pharmacy delivery office.  It was my turn to hand over my “prescription of encouragement in a written dose.”

The gal at the counter was waiting for me!    I rushed towards her to share how sorry I was that I neglected to pick everything up.   Her countenance welcomed me beyond belief.    She shared how she had passed along my kind words to the staff and they were beaming with joy.

Now…..the good stuff!    I handed her my letter and her eyes became like soccer balls.   We paused the conversation while she read my letter.   Smiles were seen all over the pharmacy as others looked on with amazement.  

Then it was my turn to be surprised.   She handed me two little gifts, face cream and cleansing wipes.   These were gifts from her to me for taking the time to indulge her with the thoughtful observations I had made about their staff, not only at this time, but on other occasions when they filled my prescriptions.

We embraced and I smiled all the way out the door and all the way home.  

We never know the experiences others face when dealing with the public.   This dialogue took less than five minutes, and yet it brought strength and commendation to the entire pharmacy staff.

The story doesn’t end here.  At the bottom of my letter, I left my phone number.  I really have no idea why I typed my number, as they have it in their files, but I did none-the-less.

The following day, I received this text from one of the pharmacists: 

“Good morning, Dianne, it’s Alex from the pharmacy.  What a lovely feedback you gave us.  You really uplifted the staff’s morale.  Really appreciate your kind words.”

My pharmacy visit was for filling a prescription, so they could make “my day!”   But it ended up with my letter making “their day.”

And again, I’m reminded that God orders our steps and starts in our daily walk; and He longs that we see others through the lens of His love, so that we can stop and notice how we can somehow affirm and bring verbal refreshment to other people in this busy world.

“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.”  Proverbs 11:25

Yes, water refreshes our lips, but a good word refreshes our soul! 

Who might be your next recipient of gratitude?