Help From Six Feet Away by Sandra Rafuse

I live with a profound hearing loss. It wasn't always this bad. Indeed, it took years to gradually get worse, but by the time I retired from teaching, and then from substitute teaching, I was ready to be out of the classroom. It was too noisy for me. I was finished. Of course, even after leaving the teaching profession, the challenges of living daily with a major hearing loss continued and I often thanked God for digital hearing aids and cell phones with blue tooth and live captions. I can't even imagine where I would be without them.

In March of 2020 Covid-19 restrictions came into effect and one of the restrictions was the compulsory wearing of face masks; everyone had to wear one everywhere they went. For anyone who needed to lip read they would cause a great deal of grief.

I was in Superstore. Covid was in full force and had been for several months. I was standing in the line-up at the till. I started to put my groceries on the track but I had forgotten that I was to wait to unload until the person ahead of me was finished. I felt embarrassed when I was told to put my groceries back into my cart. Being invisible at that moment would have been nice. I waited. Finally I was able to put my groceries on the track. I hurried to pack my bags. I didn't want to hold anyone up. It was time to pay. This was the moment I had been dreading since I first got in line.

There was the plexiglass between the cashier and me. Her mask was securely covering her face below her eyes to below her chin. My oh-so-crucial lifeline of support . . . being able to lipread . . . was gone. She was asking me something. I couldn't make out her words. She repeated herself. Nope. Not a chance. I couldn't understand a word she was saying. I told her I was hearing impaired and I asked if she could possibly pull down her mask so I could see her lips. No luck. She's wouldn't comply.

Suddenly I heard someone say, "She's asking you if you need any bags." Pause. "And she wants to know if you want the deal of the week: the Hershey dark chocolate almond bar." Pause. "And would you like to use any of your points to pay."

I have turned my head, and I am looking at a man who is standing the prerequisite six feet away from me. He is repeating the words of the cashier for me, and I can hear them clearly. He is not shouting. He is not angry. He is looking straight at me, and at that moment I love him. Yes, at that moment I love this person who is solving my very big problem by standing there and repeating the words I so badly need to hear. I thank him. Does he smile at me? I think he does. I know I smile at him for sure.

He remains in place while I finish answering the cashier's questions and pay my bill. As I leave the store, I am reminded of how God wants us to be kind to each other; how it pleases him when we do that. The warm feeling in my heart from this experience lasts a long time after I get home.

We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Ephesians 2:10

Sandra lives in Rockglen, Saskatchewan, with her husband Bob, a dog, and a very old cat. She is enjoying writing to share experiences from her life where God has been teaching her so many things.