Looking out the Window: Jesus Moving Among Us

 

Photo Courtesy of Google

One friend, the narrator, and another I'm calling Joey related this true story to me.

Last night when Joey went inside the post office, he saw a homeless woman we had seen there several times before. She has a cell phone, and while Joey was mailing items on other occasions, he overheard her on calls with friends, trying to get her life together. 

Yesterday, though, he said she looked like she had lost weight, and he said she had a very sad countenance. He was leaving the post office, and waved to say hello. She did not ask for money, or anything else, but because Joey sensed something was wrong, he asked, "are you hungry?"

“Yes,” she said. 

We don't normally carry cash around, and although we had a little yesterday, no one can eat dollar bills. So, we went next door, bought her some breadsticks from a local restaurant, and left them with her before our next errand - the grocery store.

Because we were getting over an extended illness and correcting a financial mistake made by someone else that affected us, last year wasn't our best fiscal one. After we left the building and slid into the car, Joey said, “We  really didn't have enough money for that, but how do you not help someone in that situation?" 

I agreed, on both counts.

When we got to the grocery, the guy who brought our order to the car said "hello," before he loaded our food. As we watched, we realized it was not ours. Joey then went inside the store with the employee, and the clerks at the desk said they had never seen a mistake of this magnitude. Joey’s full name and address were attached to the incorrect order, as well as the correct order, and there was no explanation for that. The tech in the system doesn't allow it.

The store then offered to give Joey all of the incorrect items, plus those we actually ordered, all for free, and then the ordering service we had used added a ten-dollar coupon to cover the hassle.

So basically, the ten dollars we spent feeding the homeless woman was given back to us tenfold, immediately, and without us even asking for it.