With all the negative news in the world, we thought we would share a story that proves there are still good people out there.
We were eating at a restaurant with our kids and had just finished a delicious meal, so we asked the server for the check. She smiled and informed us that our meal had been paid for by the couple that had been sitting at the table behind us. They had already left, so we couldn’t thank them. We tried to think back but couldn’t picture their faces, although we think it was the kind woman who had stopped by our table to “chat” with Littlest Buddy. She has said that her grandchildren are all adults so she enjoys seeing babies out and about. (Just for the record, I hope I look half as good as her when I have adult grandchildren.)
This gesture made our day. Have any of you had this happen, or have you paid it forward to anyone else?
I’ve had a lady in front of me pay for my meal at a drive thru. I smiled and threw her a kiss since I couldn’t give her a hug. I paid for a ladies meal af a drive thru and she smiled and waved. Few days later I paid for a ladies drink at a drive thru and she didn’t acknowledge that I did anything. I know it shouldn’t have bothered me but it did.
That was a super kind (and very generous) gesture, I would have been touched!
Did you also pay for someone else? That’s what you’re expected to do, pay it forward?
Pay it forward means to respond to a person’s kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else. Not necessarily the instant the kindness was done to you. Not necessarily the same way it was done to you.
There are many kind people in this world! When eating out recently an older gentleman stopped by our table and said he so enjoyed watching our kids and he left enough to cover half the bill! (We had 8 people in our group, so no small amount.)
Another time we went to the local DQ for some family time & treats. A gentleman stopped by our table on his way out and had bought two boxes of frozen treats for us to take home and enjoy later.
There is “smaller” gestures also, I often come home from the farmers market with free goodies given to me or the quarter in the cart at Aldi.
That’s so sweet. It sounds like you attract kindness. You must have adorable children!
As you may know, our medical treatment in the UK is all free. Should you need medical care, you just walk into a doctor’s office or hospital and they treat you. I live quite near a hospital and my favourite cafe has an option to pay for a coffee for the next nurse who comes in. I do it quite often- -after all, it was the place I gave birth to my babies!
That’s wonderful. Nurses are hard workers, and the people who deliver our babies are very special to us as mothers. The same midwife delivered both my babies and was with me in the ER for one of my miscarriages. I sent her a thank you card…I am so grateful for her.
I was in a delicatessen a few years ago. I had placed my order. The bill was a little more than I had with me. A police officer said here to the owner, here is the difference. It was such a good example of a police officer helping a civilian. I shook his hand and told him to stay safe. I pray for the safety of all police.
Marilyn
I love that.
What a blessing! It did happen to me a couple years ago. My husband and I have four children and at the time he traveled a lot for his job. He was traveling the week before Easter and unfortunately he got stuck and couldn’t be home for Easter. We have no family nearby. My kids were disappointed so I wanted to do something fun so after church I took them out to eat. I took all 4 kids ages 3,5,7 and 9 to a sit-down restaurant for Easter dinner by myself. We had a fun time but when I asked for the check my waiter told me that the bill had been paid. Even down to the tip. He said the person wanted to remain anonymous. I was so shocked and I felt so blessed. It was a gesture I will never forget.
That is so kind! What a wonderful thing to do on Easter
Now for your consideration: I would only pay for the meal of someone who genuinely needed the help. No, I’m not hard-hearted. I support charities including food banks and food pantries, but I do it through organizations that I know will get the money and resources directly to people in need. To pay for a meal for a family who could afford it is in effect pointless. It improves nothing but perhaps morale, and the money given is a wash. To give that money or food instead to someone who truly needs it is so much better. To you, it was a nice gesture. To someone else, it could have been the only decent meal they and their children got that day. See the difference? It’s a big difference. This is why I don’t believe in random “pay it forward.” I believe in “identify a specific problem and solve it.”
Random acts of kindness are just as they are called – random. Someone can use their money to bless whoever they want. My husband and I give to people in need but also do random acts. It is our money, so we can give it in any way we choose. It is fun to be a blessing to other people when they don’t expect it. Maybe those people don’t always “need” it, but I believe it is always an encouragement to them. It shows caring for our fellow man. It puts a smile on someone’s face which we can all use.
Today’s church sermon was about greed vs. need, how to know when we’re feeling those two different things, and how to act on them. It also mentioned Psalm 27 and the verse about borrowing but not paying again. It make me think of this post.