Take a good look at this. It’s a sponge. Worth nothing, surely, just something you could buy at a convenience store for pennies on the dollar (or tetri on the lari here in Georgia). It’s not the prettiest sponge I’ve ever laid eyes on, but it will stay with me for a long time after today.

As I’m in the process of looking for a home to buy, I am spending my mornings visiting companies and seeing what they have to offer. After a pleasant experience with one of the local companies (they have my interest and the prices aren’t too bad), I prepared to go back to my residence and get ready for my first teaching assignment of the day. Across the street from where I was waiting for my taxi was an older lady trying to sell something I couldn’t quite make out, so I decided, as I had time, to take a look and see what wares she was offering.

It turned out that all she had were sponges. She had been passed up by several people, one waving her off rather aggressively. That left me with a bad taste in my mouth, so I decided to take one of these sponges off her hands. I asked her (in sign language, as I don’t yet speak Georgian) how much it was, and she gestured that it would be two lari. I gave her ten, and insisted that she keep the change. It’s the equivalent of $3, so it didn’t do any damage to me, but the lady, who reminded me of my own departed grandmothers, started crying and saying madloba over and over again. It took every ounce of self-control to make sure I didn’t do the same.

There’s something wrong with a world that forces grandmas (or anyone else, for that matter) to toil like this on the street. There is no worse hell than to be alone in a cold world. The next time you see, especially an older person, trying to sell something, keep in mind that they’re doing so out of dignity, not out of leeching. God forbid this may be your own grandmother having to do this one day.

I offered a prayer and a request of intercession to Patriarch Job, who suffered horribly yet never gave up his faith in God. May he intercede for all of us, especially in these bleak days.