God Puts People In Your Path

I have always been a firm believer that God puts people in our path for one reason or another.

This morning when I woke up, all I could think about was getting my home in order for the holidays and that I had to run out the door to pick up a few things to tidy up the house with.  I grabbed my keys, some cash and my list, kissed my cat and headed out the door.  I remembered that my husband wanted me to mail out our annual donations, so I grabbed them and put them in my purse.

When I got outside I didn't realize how cold it was.  The wind was really blowing today and I could feel Winter sneaking up on me.   I checked my bird feeder to make sure the birds had food and quickly made my way to my car. When I was driving to the store I placed some Christmas music on.  I like the old traditional songs that I grew up listening to as a child. I find them to be soothing.  I took a quick run over to the post office, mailed the donations and traveled to the store.

When I pulled up to the store, the lot was fairly empty.  I guess people don't realize that many of the stores are open earlier this time of year.  I made my way to the front of the store and grabbed a carriage.  As I was heading in I saw an elderly woman standing in front.  She looked my way and I smiled and ventured inside.  

I was in the store for a while, probably an hour or so, gathering all of the things on my list and a few that weren't.  There was a good sale going on so I figured I would take advantage of the savings.  When I was done getting everything I needed, I made my way to the register.  A young man came on line behind me with one item, so I let him go first.  While, I was being rung up at the register I made small talk with the cashier and in the corner of my eye I saw the little old lady that was outside standing next to me.  I found it odd and I felt a bit confused as to why she was there.  After my order was rung up I began to walk out of the store when I heard the old lady say to the cashier, in broken English, that her purse was missing and that she had received a call that it was found but didn't know where to go.  She mentioned that she thought the call came from a local pharmacy  The cashier brushed her off and continued to ring up her next customer.  

I could see the sadness and concern in the old woman's face, I thought of the proverb from Luke, " Do to others as you would have them do to you, so I approached her and said, too bad you don't know what number the call came from.  She responded, I have the number here in my phone.  I asked if she would mind if I called the number. She said she didn't mind.    Her English was poor and I could tell she couldn't understand very well.  I felt very bad for her and knew if it were my purse, I would be upset and want help.  It was the least I could do. A kind man answered the phone and I asked where he was located and I explained the situation to him.  He said he was there with her purse and would be waiting to give it to her.  I told the woman where the building.  It took me a while to explain it to her.  When she finally understood,  she was grateful and thanked me repeatedly.

As I made my way outside, I saw that the woman was walking toward the highway.  I knew that the building where her purse was, was a long distance away and that the highway was dangerous.  I turned around and shouted out to her, asking if she would like a ride.  She started to cry and whispered yes.  I walked with her to my car, loaded my packages and then assisted her into my SUV.  We drove to the location that her purse was being held and as I opened the front door, a kind man came outside holding her purse.  She didn't speak a word  She just walked up to him and hugged him with tears rolling down her cheeks.  She was clearly overwhelmed with joy that it had been found.  He explained to her that he was able to find her by the prescription in her purse.   I looked at the woman and man and I said, there are still good people in this world.  Both smiled and agreed.  

After thanking the man, I asked the woman if she would like a ride home. She got choked up and said, Oh thank you, you are too kind.  I explained to her that I believe that God puts people in our paths and that he wants us to treat them as we would treat him.  She answered, I believe this to be true.

While I drove her home, we made small talk.  I told her stories about my youth and we spoke about being thankful this time of year and the upcoming holiday.  I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind that there has to be more that I can do for this woman.  Her coat was tattered and she had on an old worn out hat and gloves.  I remembered the money that I grabbed on the way out the door, reached into my pocket and gave it to her.  I said,  I want you to have this.   I want you to take it and buy yourself  a new coat or a hot meal for Thanksgiving.  She cried, and thanked me.

Soon, I was at her home dropping her off.  As she made her way out of the vehicle she asked me for my address.   I told her, you don't have to send me a thank you card or anything else.  I told her I did it because I wanted to.  I wished her a blessed day and happy thanksgiving, watched her walk into her home with her little suitcase and purse safely tucked under her arm.  

As I drove away I smiled  and said a prayer for her.  I truly believe that God put her in my path to make me remember that I am blessed and to remind me to do good for others.

Happy Thanksgiving