A Dollar and Fifty Cents

 

Sometimes when I turn my head, my balance isn’t what it should be to keep me from falling over.  This is largely due to my inability to see correctly and my scoliosis.  I have fallen against solid objects often as I have turned to walk around them or I have been embarrassed when I sometimes reach out to shake a hand and lose my balance.

In the past, I have prayed that I wouldn’t’ get hurt falling, and God has sometimes sent unseen hands to steady me as I struggled for correct balance.  I have always been very grateful for whatever power has helped steady my balance. 

This afternoon, I was in a hurry to get my yard work finished and I had to come inside of the house to get something.  As I rushed inside, I turned and lost my balance and was about to fall when something held me up.  I was grateful that I didn’t fall and quickly thanked God for helping me. I was able to continue with my work. 

Tonight, I had to go shopping.  I was in a hurry again and rushed about getting my items. After I paid for them, I thought that I had paid too much for as little as I had purchased and wished that the economy were healthier than it was.  I was in too much of a hurry to think about myself, however, and I hurried out to the parking to my old car. I carefully placed my items in the car when I noticed a small tube of lotion that someone had obviously purchased and left in a shopping cart.  My first thought, “Finder’s keepers, now its mine” and maybe I can use it.  I checked it out and then I put into the sack with my other items. 

As I drove out of the parking lot, I stopped and thought that perhaps it belonged to someone who has a big family, is poor and really needs the lotion.  Silently, I asked, “Should I return it to the customer service office?  Maybe the person who lost it is there now looking for it.”  Then, I thought, “Naw, its finder’s keepers!” and I continued my drive home.  Something inside of me, however, kept digging at me to return to the store and at least try to find the owner by taking it to Customer Service. I recognized this as my conscience and I drove back to the store.

As I walked up to the store, a thought came to me that if I said I had purchased it and didn’t want it that I could get cash for a refund.  I whispered under my breath, "Maybe that is why I really felt that I needed to bring it back, for the money!", but I wasn’t sure.  As I battled with my sense of reason for originally bringing it back, I wondered who could have lost it.  Was it a person with a big family and little monetary support or was it someone who had plenty of money and losing it wouldn’t make a dent in their budget?  

As I struggled, I remembered how I had almost fallen today and God had blessed me with good balance.  After that happened, I had prayed and thanked God for His help.  I had wondered, however, how I could show more gratitude other than through my sincere prayer. Then, I thought that I could show my gratitude to God by trying to help someone that I didn’t know and by being honest with myself now.  After returning it to the customer service clerk, I asked how much it was worth.  She scanned it and it told me it was worth a dollar and fifty cents.  Its monetary value wasn’t much, but it was worth much more than that to me.

Tags: Gratitude Honesty RuntoTomorrow

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