Do you have $3 to spare? A priceless lesson…

When I heard the
tapping on the window,
I froze.  It’s dark out,
and I had pulled off the
road into an empty parking
lot of a closed service station
to find out what had fallen
off  of the seat next to me.
Now there’s a guy from out
of nowhere at my door.
I opened the door,
and as I did he said;
“Do you have 3 dollars you could spare?”

I figured he was in his late 50s or so, and he looked…
well like someone who would be asking a stranger
for spare change in the middle of the night.
He also spoke in a manner that suggested that he
may have been born with challenges that
most of us have never had to deal with.

For a brief second, I thought about how much cash I
had on me, and came up with: $5 bill, $10 and a $20.
So I said “Not tonight”.

He thanked me and hoped God would bless me.
Door closed, he walked off  into the darkness.

And… I began to wonder; $3. What an odd amount.
I was pretty sure I didn’t have any $1 bills,
but (and this might sound strange) I wanted
to keep my integrity in check about it.
So, I open my wallet. $10 bill. $20 bill.
And (you guessed it)  3 x  $1 bills.

I smiled.

I asked my son if he saw where the man went.
He told me which direction, and we drove.
Asking me why, I replied that I had found
three one dollar bills in my wallet that
I did not know were there, so I was going
to give them to the guy who had asked.
Now, normally – I don’t have “spare money”.
Tonight was no exception – far from it.

However, I believe in a good cause.
And with it being so close to the Holidays -
I know every bit helps.

So, back to tracking down our stranger in the night.
My eagle eyed son spotted him first, so we pulled
off the next road in front of him and waited.
I put one of my cards ( http://tinyurl.com/786aqkj )
inside the folded over dollar bills and walked over to him.
I told him that I had checked my wallet and
had found the 3 dollar bills he’d asked for.
He seemed a bit surprised, yet undaunted -
telling me again that he hoped God would bless me.
And once again into the night he disappeared.

Now, I really don’t have a deep, meaningful message
to finish this with… yet.  I’m not done !
But you know… It feels good to do the right thing.
It feels good to be your word – WITH YOURSELF,
let alone with those in your World.

That man never needed to know I had the $3.
As far as he was concerned, I was probably like
everyone else who lied to him and said “No…” .

But… I guess its like that old saying:
“Character is what we do when no one is watching.”

It’s one thing to be true to others – and we should;
yet it is far more empowering to be
true FIRST and foremost to YOU.

Little did he know that his words
would come true in such short time.
I was blessed, and am once again
by a man asking for a mere $3.

He should have asked for more…

you-are-a-treasure