the parable of $1.49

i was on a food lion mission: a) get ingredients for alien cupcakes. b) make sure the 7 year old and 5 year old (Victoria & Daniel)  with little shopping carts don't run into eachother, causing some sort of bodily injury or injury otherwise.

green food coloring. check.
eggs. check.
mix. check.
chocolate frosting check.
diverting multiple cart collisions within a 2.5 minute time period. check.

I headed to the check out, tired of talking to the kids about not running into eachother as "airplanes" and ready to get out of the store. As I walked up to the counter, I overheard the cashier telling the customer in front of me "it's $1.49"; the customer looked let down and headed to the soda aisle to put back a liter of Coca-Cola. The cashier yelled after the lady "I need you to bring it back here so I can scan and void the purchase", so once again the woman in her overly large and tattered black sweatshirt and sunglasses still worn to cover her eyes,had to turn back around and get the Coca Cola. At this point I was embarrassed for the customer and intriguied about the situation, I spoke quietly to the cashier and said "is she short money?"; when the cashier replied yes I ask how much the lady was short, "$1.49".  I didn't even take a breath before I said "what? I've got it." I handed over the money and the transaction was complete right as the woman was coming back with the drink in hand, thinking it was to void it.

I turned to the woman, touch her elbow and said "don't worry, I've got it." The woman lifted her glasses and said "What?" as her eyes softened and she processed what I was saying. She opened her hand and said, "I've got $.40 if you want it"; I smiled and said "no worries". She stared at me for a second or two and then said, "What's your name?" "Mary Catherine", I answered. She got closer to me and said "I'd hug you but I don't even know you and that might be kind of weird", so instead she resolved to pat/half hug me. As she turned around to walk out, she turned around several times to look back at me, until right before she stepped out of the door she said once more "What's your name? Because I want to tell people about this", I smiled and said again "Mary Catherine". She said, "Thank you Mary Catherine, you're a lifesaver. You don't even know, You're a life saver". 

I thought about this encounter for the rest of the day; focusing on the fact that the woman was SO SURPRISED that someone would be kind and help her out in such a small and reasonable way. Why are people surprised when we love the world?

$1.49 didn't even take me  a second to think through, it was such a feasible way to love someone. Why don't we do it more often?

Later in the day, I pulled in behind a man and his mom pumping gas into their car at the gas station;they both had to use the passenger side door to get in because it was the only door that worked. As they drove away, I saw that they only put $5.00 in their tank, I wished that I had been there sooner so I could have just suprised them by putting gas into their car; but I prayed for them as they drove away and resolved I WOULD buy gas for a stranger soon.

When I use to work at Chick-Fil-A, we use to have days where a chain would start: someone would pay for not only their food, but also the food for the car behind them. Sometimes that chain would go on for an hour, it was so beautiful. Once, one man in a car bought the food for a van full of people who he felted needed it. Another time, my dad looked in his rearview mirror to see a mother with multiple kids in a drive thru, he decided to love her by paying for her food.

The world won't care how much we know, unless they know how much we care.

"What good is it my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Suppose your brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him; ' Go I wish you well; keep warm and well fed'  but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself , if not accompanied by action, is dead"

(James 2:14-17)