Random Act Of Kindness?

I don't believe in coincidences. I don't think that things happen randomly. I believe that God is in every single detail and I see evidence of that on a daily basis, if I stop to take the time to notice Him and savor Him.

co·in·ci·dence   [koh-in-si-duhns]
–noun
1.
a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance: Our meeting in Venice was pure coincidence.

ran·dom   [ran-duhm] Show IPA
–adjective
1.
proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern.

Many years ago when I was a very little girl I experienced a random act of kindness. I was about 7 years old and my parents would give us a quarter each Sunday as our allowance. My sister, Amanda, and I, would walk across the street to Safeway to buy our favorite chocolate bars for the week. Hers was 3 musketeers, mine Milky Way. Each Sunday this was our ritual, and something we looked forward to. I remember going to the check stand where they keep all the candybars. I put my Milky Way up on the conveyer belt, put my little divider up between my candy bar and Amanda's, and waited my turn to pay.

I will never forget the face of that cashier. I remember the big 80's hair...poofy and blonde and teased to high heaven. I remember blue eyeshadow that was brighter than any crayon I had ever seen. And, that lipstick. It was the color of strawberry flavored Hubba Bubba bubblegum. She also had some of those feather earrings on. Man, how I wanted a pair of those feather earrings, back then. Anyway, i'll never forget her because she was the first person that caused me to suffer from humiliation. She caused me embarrassment. Here's why...

I had my quarter ready to hand over to this lovely cashier and she must have given me the total, but I must not have noticed what she said, being excited about my Milky Way and all, and handed her over my quarter. She scoffed and said I owed her a dime. What? A dime? What do you mean?

"They are 25 cents." I reminded her.

"No. 35 cents." She crossed her arms, impatiently.

"But, I was here last week, and they were 25 cents, then."

"Well, they aren't now. Do you want it or not?" She never cracked a smile or a kind tone.

I started to cry because I knew I didn't have a dime, and neither did my sister. I was embarrassed that she spoke to me in such a belittling way and that I was holding up the line, and I just froze. As the tears slid down my face you could see she just wanted me to move and my little sister, whom was always so protective, started to give the cashier a look that probably could have straightened that teased head of hair straight. Then, it happened. A moment that has been engraved on my heart for over 30 years.

He leaned down and said, "Here you go."

"Huh?" He was handing me a dime.

I remember how shiny it looked. How cool it felt against my skin. How it seemed like I had grown from 2 inches to 20 feet the minute it hit my palm.

"Thank you." I said, as I wiped the tears and handed it proudly to the cashier. She took it without so much as a smile, or a thank you, or anything that would give me a hint as to her having a kind bone in her body.

I'll never forget the face of that kind man, either. How he didn't hesitate to help me. How he took a moment to bless a little girl at a time she felt so defeated and insecure and sad. He probably never gave it a second thought, his act of kindness, but God had a hand in that act, so it wasn't random. Nothing is random, because God had everything planned out for us, even before we were born. And, now, when I think of that kind man, which is anytime I see a Milky Way bar or see someone doing something kind for a child, I pray for him. And, I know that the Lord would want me to pray for that cashier, too. So, anytime I see big blonde hair, or blue eyeshadow, I will pray for her, as well.

So, remember, even the tiniest thing you do in a child's life can stay with them forever. The kind acts, and the not so kind. Never think that what you do is insignificant, because it could be something that changes the life of a child forever.

Oh, and what about my sister's 3 Musketeer's bar? There was a woman standing behind the kind gentleman in line, that blessed her with a dime of her own. Told, you God was in every detail.

"The dice are thrown in the lap, and every decision is from the Lord" Proverbs 16:33