This morning I decided to swing through the Dunkin Donuts drive thru to pick up a coffee and a bagel. As I pulled up to the window to pay for my breakfast the cashier told me, “The lady in front of you already paid for your order. She wanted me to tell you to have a nice day.” Stunned, I tried to get a glimpse of the lady in the minivan pulling out onto the road. I waved at her, but I’m not sure she saw me. Within seconds she was gone.
The cashier handed me my food and I was still surprised by this wonderful display of generosity. Her $4 gift to a stranger absolutely floored me. It had never happened to me before. I’ve read about things like this, but no one has ever actually bought my food for me. Did I need her to? No. But did it feel good? Absolutely! I am still excited that someone so selflessly reached out to make a stranger’s day better. I never would have guessed such a simple gesture could have truly impacted my day so much!
I’ve been thinking about the generosity displayed by that woman in the mini van and how we all can afford to be generous. The experience has made me want to pay it forward in a similar way. While the idea isn’t new, I guess it wasn’t until today that I realized how good it feels and how much a small random act of kindness can change someone’s outlook.
So far I’ve told anyone who will listen about the good deed of this stranger. I guess I just want everyone to know that there are kind people out there and that it doesn’t cost much to make someone’s day. God bless you lady in the mini van!
March 12th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Great story! Our church actually did a reverse offering about 6 months ago. We gave away $20 to everyone and only asked that they use it to bless someone else with it. No other restrictions. There were some terrific stories that came from that day.
March 12th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
What a cool idea! Thanks for commenting!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:59 am
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March 17th, 2009 at 5:01 am
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March 18th, 2009 at 7:32 am
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March 21st, 2009 at 4:29 pm
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March 28th, 2009 at 6:05 am
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April 4th, 2009 at 1:27 am
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April 4th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Wow thats an awesome story, maybe she was interested in you.
I had a similar story where i went to tim hortons and did not have enough money and the girl was like ohh thats ok.
She was actually my nationality so that is probably why but it sure was interesting.