Kindness of a Stranger

There has been so much going on in my mind lately that I have had a hard time knowing what to blog about...so I decided to get a little help from One Minute Writer. A couple days ago the prompt was to tell a story about something nice that a stranger did for you. Well, I was thinking and one story popped into my head which I treasure because it was so out of the ordinary.

A few years ago, when Russ & I were living in Colorado Springs, ( I believe it was Labor Day Weekend, September 2005) my parents & sister came to visit us. We went to the hot air balloon festivities and then walked up & down the streets of Manitou Springs visiting all the little shops & boutiques. In one of the shops I found a stacked glass cactus that I loved.

For background let me tell you that when Russ & I were dating, Russ, his friend Josiah, and I went to Phoenix, AZ for a conference. The conference was held at a really nice hotel and in the hotel gift shop were these stacked glass cactus that I fell in love with. However, I was a poor college student and decided not to buy the large cactus and spent the next several years kicking myself for not spending the lousy $25 it would have cost.

So fast forward to this shop in Manitou that had for purchase these very same cactus. Some of the stacked glass pieces were placed on glass bases while others were set on rock bases. I loved the rock ones. But I could only find one large cactus in the entire store that had a rock base and it had a small chip in it. I was a bit disappointed. I already had a small cactus from my Arizona trip at home, and I wasn't really satisfied with the glass based ones but yet why would I want to pay full price for a broken one? So I left the store. After making it a couple more blocks I decided that I had to buy one so I returned to the store alone while my family continued to shop down the street. I found the chipped one and took it to the man behind the counter. I asked him if he had any others perhaps in the back. I pointed out the chip and told him that he had plenty with glass bases but I really wanted the rock base but it was broken. He looked a bit and concluded that it was the only one of its kind in the store. I expressed disappointment and pondered what to do. He told me that he'd give me a discount since it was broken. I said okay, I'd take it and he proceeded to wrap it up and I told him my story about Arizona. When he had finished wrapping it and I had my money out and ready to go, he says to me, "Why don't you just keep it, it is broken." I was flabbergasted. "Are you sure?" He insisted that I keep it. So I put my money away, thanked him profusely and left the store in a state euphoria & shock!

I had my money ready...I was going to pay him. He willingly gave a total stranger an item from his store for free! That man did something so unusual and kind. Everytime I look at the small chip in my stacked glass cactus I remember him and his generosity to me. I hope the Lord blesses him for that because he sure blessed me that day. It challenges me to bless others in similarly unexpected and generous ways.