Thanksgiving Came on Monday

tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN

Monday was a particularly busy day......... one filled with a few unexpected blessings

The first half of the day, while busy, was filled with my normal Monday, start-of-the week tasks. Nothing really out of the ordinary. It was later in the day when the surprises began.

I am on a community-related committee that was sponsoring a fitness event that afternoon involving kids from the community. The special guest was a 23 year old Paralympic medalist who received a silver and bronze medal in track and field events at the 2012 games in London. This is quite a feat for anyone, but this young man did this while running on 2 prosthetic legs! He was born without legs below the knee. It was very inspirational to see him running with the children and even more so to hear him tell his story. He is a very determined individual who has overcome great challenges and achieved great goals. What a wonderful role model for these kids......as well as the adults. I just felt honored to be in his presence.

While I was at the event, I received a call that a patient had been admitted to the ER that I might want to visit. After the crowd departed, I helped clean up a bit and then headed over to the hospital to check on a dear lady and her husband. I was tired and normally I would have been home long before now, but I felt compelled to go. I was actually honored that the family had requested that I be notified as I had only met them the week before when I paid a casual visit to their home at the request of a friend. I had the honor of praying with them that day in their home as well as in the hospital. It was good to receive welcoming smiles and hugs from the family. Although it was late when I left, I suddenly no longer felt tired.

Driving home in the dark, I was thinking about life and how we get put into the lives of others. Chance meetings?? I thought about the family that I had just left and thanked God that I had the opportunity to meet them.

As I neared my house, I got behind a very slow-moving car. I was anxious to get home and just veg for awhile. The car finally passed my house and pulled into my neighbor's driveway, then backed out and slowly drove back down the road in the opposite direction. Hmmmmm..... must be lost, I thought.

I finally pulled in my driveway and into the garage. Normally, I would shut the garage door while still in the car, but I had to unload some things from the trunk. As I was going around to the rear of the car, I heard a woman's voice coming from outside.......a distressed moaning.

"Oh........what am I going to do???? Oh!!!!!!"

I turned around and saw a car with it's lights on sitting at the intersection near my house. A lady was outside the car looking around. The car had not been there when I pulled in my driveway. It must be the slow car I got behind earlier.

My first thought was that someone in the car or the lady herself was having a heart attack or some medical-related event and I would need to provide assistance. You know how we nurses are. Like a good nurse and first responder, I checked to see if the scene was safe. I was a little leery thinking maybe this was some sort of scam, it was dark, and I was home alone. I did not want to become a victim. I called to the woman from the safety of my open garage door.

"Are you all right?"

She continued to moan, but told me her story. As the story unfolded, I went further up the driveway and closer to the street and the woman. She is a waitress and had just left work and was headed home. She stopped by a local fast-food restaurant where she purchased some drinks. When she neared the intersection and stopped at the stop sign, the drinks turned over, so she opened the door to throw out the remainder of the drinks.

She was almost home when she realized she didn't have her purse. She looked all over her car, but then remembered the purse had been on her lap after she paid for the drinks. The purse must've fallen out of the car when she opened the door to pour out the drinks. That is why she returned to the intersection........ she was searching for her purse.

By this time, throwing all caution to the wind, I was at her side helping her search. I thought to myself....surely no one could make up a story like this.

She said that she had a large sum of cash in her purse.... probably her tip money and possible wages.......as well as all the normal cards and things ladies carry in their purses.

"What am I going to do?" she said with tears streaming down her face.

I felt helpless for this poor woman. She looked so small and vulnerable. I did the first thing that came into my mind....... I gave her a big hug as she continued to sob and tremble.

I told her, "I will pray for you. I will pray that God will convict the person who has your purse, if they took it with dishonest intentions....that they will feel guilty and will contact you.........."

I also told her that if I had been driving down the road and saw a purse in the middle of the road, I would know that someone somehow dropped it. I would not stand in the intersection looking for the owner, but would pick it up and would take it home so I could look for some owner contact information.

"I will also pray that when you get home, you will find a message on your answering machine telling you that your purse has been found......"

After a few more hugs, I sent her on her way, telling her to be careful as she drove home.

What a day.....and night. But it wasn't over yet.

As I was sitting on the sofa....finally vegging....about 20 minutes later,

I heard a knock on the door. I thought, "Now what?"

I looked out the peephole, and who should I see? The little lady was back. And what was that I saw hanging from her shoulder? HER PURSE!!!!!

I opened the door and she greeted me with a huge smile. She was still crying, but these were tears of joy!!!

"You found your purse!!!" I said.

"Yes. When I got home, my husband said he had been driving around trying to find me. A lady found the purse and called to tell me she had it. It was just like you said!!! You are an absolute angel!! You were there just when I needed you. You helped to calm me down. I didn't know what to do, but you said just the right things. I had to come back and tell you........thank you."

"You will have a wonderful Thanksgiving now. And isn't it great to know there are still honest folks in the world?"

After another hug, she returned to her car and drove away. And I turned and went back into the house.......with a very big smile on my face and a warm and fuzzy feeling all over. What a day!!!

Was this a coincidence???? I think not.

To read more articles, such as I am Afraid. Please Pray for Me, and When Nurses Cry, go to my AN blog: Body, Mind, and Soul

Thanksgiving Came on Monday

About tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN

More Like This