Sunday, November 21, 2010

He Winked and Simply Said "Pay it Forward" Dear

Pay it forward. I am a firm believer in what those three words say and mean. As a matter of fact, I even have that as part of my Twitter profile. The interesting thing is that I try to pay it forward whenever the opportunity arises. But, recently - I was the receiver!

It all started with my huge purse! I carry tons of stuff with me all the time. Why? Not really sure. LOL! I guess as a mother of two you get into the habit when kids are young to carry all that you need and "might need" while out and about. Even when kids begin to get older, I think that notion of having everything at your fingertips goes away very slowly. My boyfriend has even said to me once "I could survive for 30 days in the woods with your purse". Too Funny! Anyway - I wanted to make a quick trip into the grocery store after work one day. I knew - absolutely knew - I had stuffed some cash in my purse. I picked up the few items I needed and headed to the checkout line. I got to the register - and guess what? I couldn't find the cash. I was thinking "I KNOW it's in there". But, for whatever reason it was nowhere to be found. So, of course, starting to become embarrassed very quickly, I tell the cashier to just take the next person in line and let me find my money. He was very nice and said sure.

I step to the end of the checkout line and proceed to search frantically when all of a sudden I hear a person say - "I got it". As if snapped out of a deep concentration - I look up to find a nice gentleman standing there smiling at me. He repeats "I got it". Startled, I said are you sure??? He says yes, I got it. I asked if I could get his phone number - he laughs, winked at me and simply said just "Pay it Forward" dear. With more gratitude than he could ever imagine, I said thanks. Then, I turned back toward him and said, you know what? I actually have "Pay it Forward" as part of my Twitter profile. He just smiled. Now, as you can imagine, as soon as I get home, I search through my purse - the money is there, just like I thought. Maybe it was all simply a grand pay it forward opportunity for both of us to experience.

Now, what makes this interesting is that only about two weeks prior I was walking along at a shopping center. A lady (stranger) walks by me and frantically says her car is being towed and that she had no idea what she was going to do. She was way out of sorts and said she was going to cry because her daughter was with her and they had no coats and it was chilly outside. Before she could even finish the story, I had already reached in my purse to help her out. I knew that $10 was what I was going to hand her. Literally, at the same time I grabbed it, she said I want my daughter and I to take the bus but it will cost us $5 each to go that distance. Confirmation. $10 was what she needed. I handed her the money. The look on her face was priceless. She said "you're giving me all of it"? I said yes! She said can I have your address or something? I said nope, don't worry about it! Before I knew it, she had hugged my neck tightly and said I love you! I simply said "I love you too, God Bless" and then I walked away. Being able to help someone is one of the best feelings you can ever have. That day, the money I needed was sitting right inside my purse.

Will I ever see that lady again? Will I ever see that gentleman again? Who knows. But, what I do know is that in this world and in this society, the most important things in life are still those things that are most basic. A genuine love and care of people. A need for empathy. A need for extending helping hands.
(Reference Luke 10:25-37)

To everyone that reads this, I hope you are inspired to pay it forward.